Jessica Forrester, UT Women Win NCAA South Regional

SEARCY, Ark. - It was a clean sweep for The University of Tampa women's cross country team as Jessica Forrester won the individual championship to pace the Spartans to its second straight regional team title at Wyldewood Retreat Center. The Spartan men also competed and finished fifth overall.

Forrester became the first UT male or female runner to win an NCAA South Regional individual championship, paced the field of 119 runners with a time of 21:50 in the 6K. Forrester crossed the finish line 36 seconds ahead of competition two claim the top honor.

Tampa had all five point-scoring runners in the top 11 and finished with 28 points. Harding, the host school, was second with 47 points and will also qualify for the Division II National Cross Country Championships.

"We were hoping for top two, and the girls just ran incredible," Tampa coach Jarrett Slaven said. "It was kind of our day today, and that's how it goes. [Forrester's] been running well and training well, so kind of thought she'd be in the hunt. It was her day too and she ran great."

Heather Nicolosi was Tampa's second scorer with a third-place finish (22:30). Alysha Duffy was fourth overall (22:32), Sara Nelson was ninth (22:59) and Dara Fox rounded out Tampa's scoring with an 11th-place finish (23:13).

In men's action, Tony Nicolosi was UT's top finisher with a 15th place finish and a time of 32:49. The Spartan top five also included Kevin Lane, Gordon Wright, Jeremy Lautzenheiser and Matt Altimari.

The Spartan women now set their sights on the NCAA II Championships, which is scheduled for Sat., Nov. 22, at Slippery Rock, Pa.