Women’s cross country seventh

Junior Shannon Saunders qualified for the national championships at Saturday’s cross country regional championship in Greenville, N.C. Saunders lead her team to a seventh place finish overall.

Her fourth place finish was the highest in school history. She covered the 6-kilometer course in 20:29 to earn the second of four individual qualifying slots.

Saunders, fresh off her victory at the Colonial Athletic Conference Championships will head to the National Championships for the first time in her cross country career, although she qualified in outdoor track this past spring, placing 16th in her event.

"Everyone else did very well," Saunders said. "We placed higher than in past years."

The southeast region has traditionally been competitive. Four schools from the region, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Duke University and Wake Forest University finished in the top 21 at nationals last year.

"It’s very good competition, so it’s hard to get much better," Saunders said. "We held our own."

Behind Saunders, junior Nelly Anderson finished 41st out of 180 runners with a time of 21:29. Freshman Michelle Beardmore finished 49th with a time of 21:49. Junior Tiffany Cross finished 56th with a time of 21:55, and Cynthia Dunham finished 93rd with a time of 22:40.

Duke beat North Carolina State, 71 to 75, to take the team title.

Saunders will compete at the National Championships in Indiana on Monday.