Carr Advances to Nationals; Lions Place 12th at Mideast Regional

CARLISLE, Pa. -  Savanna Carr (Franklin, PA/Franklin Area) became the second-ever Penn State Behrend women's cross country runner to advance to the NCAA Championship after finishing seventh at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Mideast Regional on Saturday afternoon. This marks the best finish by a female cross country runner at NCAA Regionals in Penn State Behrend history.

The Lions, who finished 12^th in the team standing, posted their third-best placing in program history at the NCAA Regionals.

Carr was named to the All-Freshman Team after running a time of 22:14.1 to advance to the national event. The freshman has won two races thus far in 2017, including the AMCC Championship meet back on October 28.

Behrend had three other runners post top-115 times, Sophomore Riley Crissman (Bradford, PA/Bradford Area) finished 49^th with a time of 23:59.5, and juniors Courtney Sargent (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) and Jenna Shelton (Cabot, PA/Knoch) came in at the exact same time, crossing the line at 113^th and 114^th with a time of 24:38.6.

Becca Worley (Townville, PA/Maplewood) finished 156^th with a time of 25:18.1, and teammate Rachel Pell (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) finished 180^th with a time of 25:41.6. Kelley Giles (North Huntington, PA/Norwin) ran a time of 26:23.4 to close out Behrend's runners.

Carr's achievement is yet another jewel in the crown of the Behrend women's cross country program. Earlier this month, eight Lions were selected to the AMCC All-Conference team, and coach Greg Cooper was named AMCC women's Coach of the Year.

With her seventh place finish in Carlisle, Carr will now compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship on November 18.