University of West Alabama

After a remarkable season for the St. Catherine University cross country team, junior Ailee Larson (Lutsen, Minn.) led the Wildcats to an impressive 17th-place finish at the Central Region meet Saturday afternoon in Northfield, Minn. Her eighth-place individual finish was also good enough to help her qualify for the NCAA national meet  and earn all-region honors – a first for a Wildcat runner since Greta Sieve finished seventh at the regional meet to qualify in 2009. For her efforts, she has been named the Wildcat Athlete of the Week for the third time this year. 

Larson crossed the line in 22:24.14 as the fourth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) indvidual finisher. Because Wartburg College and Carleton College finished first and second, respectively, in the team standings and automatically qualify for the national meet, Larson is then one of the top seven individuals to finish, therfore earning her a trip to the Division III national championship. 

In a addition to Sieve, Larson is one of just four runners in St. Catherine history to qualify for the national meet. The other two individuals were Monika Deroussel and Katie Jorgenson in 1998. Deroussel's fourth-place finish remains the best regional finish in St. Catherine history. 

Larson will compete at the NCAA Championships Saturday at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EST/10 a.m. CST. All information can be found on the championships page.