SPOKANE, Wash. – With the snow coming down throughout the race and wind chills in the low teens, the Bentley University women's cross country team finished 22nd overall in its inaugural trip as a team to the NCAA Division II Championships, held late Saturday morning at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex.

The Falcons, as has been the case throughout the season, were led by freshman Tara Dooley (Lee, Mass./Lee HS), who posted the highest finish ever by a Bentley woman in the nationals. She covered the 6,000-meter snow-covered course in 22:36.2 to place 49th overall and second amongst NCAA Division II East Regional competitors. The previous best by a Bentley runner came in 2001 when Julie Doherty was 58th.

Dooley, as was the case in both the Northeast-10 and East Regional meets, finished less than four seconds back of Jeptui Cherutich of American International. Cherutich, the only East Region runner to beat Dooley this season, was 43rd in 22:32.5.

Bentley's number two runner was junior Amy Varsell (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills HS). She was number 82 across the finish line in a field that included 186 runners, clocking a 23:19.5.

"For the most part we had a good day, in particular Tara and Amy," said first-year head coach Kevin Curtin.  "Tara ran another solid race and missed All-American by 15 seconds. I dont know that we could have asked any more from her."

Completing the team's top five were sophomore Ashley Nichols (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor HS) in 156th (24:47.4), junior Caitlin Fahey (Bridgewater, Mass./Coyle-Cassidy HS) in 161st (25:04.8) and sophomore Leah Schiller (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe HS) in 178th (26:15.1).

"All in all, for our first trip to NCAAs, we dealt with a lot of things as well as could be expected. A lot of travel, deteriorating weather conditions and the fact that this was a longer season than any of them are used to. We handled that pretty well although we're ready for a break now. It was a nice end to a successful and memorable season," said Curtin.

Augustana (S.D.) edged Western State for the team championship, 75-79, and individual honors went to Shippensburg's Neely Spence. She successfully defended her individual title, winning by more than 13 seconds with a time of 20:53.8.

The only other East Region team to compete was Stonehill College, which placed 19th overall.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Plantes Ferry Sports Complex, Spokane, Wash.

Team Standings: 1. Augustana (S.D.) 75, 2. Western State 79; 3. Grand Valley State 104, 4. Adams State 120, 5. Mary 131, 6. Alaska-Anchorage 152, 7. Cal. State-Chico 213, 8. Ferris State 220, 9. Shippensburg 256, 10. Queens (N.C.) 372, 11. Midwestern State 373, 12. Western Washington 390, 13. Saginaw Valley State 399, 14. Bloomsburg 406, 15. Pittsburg State 422, 16. Tampa 429, 17. Alaska-Fairbanks 436, 18. Ashland 467, 19. Stonehill 488, 20. Lock Haven 508, 21. Minnesota-Duluth 519, 22. Bentley 545, 23. West Florida 736, 24. Montevallo 756.

Top Individuals: 1. Neely Spence, Shippensburg, 20:53.8; 2. Alicia Nelson, Adams State, 21:07.4; 3. Lauren Kleppin, Western State, 21:16.6; 4. Kate Griewisch, Lenoir-Rhyne, 21:26.8; 5. Kelly Lamb, Adams State, 21:28.0.

Bentley Runners: 49. Tara Dooley, 22:36.2; 82. Amy Varsell, 23:19.5; 156. Ashley Nichols, 24:47.4; 161. Caitlin Fahey, 25:04.8; 178. Leah Schiller, 26:15.1; 181. Evelyn Marrero, 26:45.5; 182. Brittany Roderman, 26:51.6.