Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
NCAA Championships
CSU's Hemphill, Rastall compete at NCAA championships
11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 23, 2009
By Andrew Woerpel
Athletic Media Relations
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Colorado State women's cross country program was represented by two runners, senior Kristen Hemphill and sophomore Ellie Rastall, at the NCAA championships Monday.
Hemphill finished 128th overall out of 254 runners with a time of 21 minutes, 30.2 seconds, while Rastall came in 162nd with a time of 21:45.1.
Villanova took the women's overall championship followed by second-place Florida State and third-place Washington.
This marked the fourth straight year the CSU women's team has been represented in the NCAA championships, and Rastall's second consecutive year competing. In 2008, she finished in 146th place with a time of 21:33.3.
Head Coach Bryan Berryhill felt his two competitors ran a fairly average race, but was happy in their quest to make nationals.
"It was kind of an average race for the both of them," Berryhill said. "I was hoping they would both finish 70 spots further up. If there was a part we could go back and redo, it would be the start of the race. They didn't get out to where we talked about in that first mile."
This race was the last of Hemphill's cross country career. She still has the track season ahead of her, but Berryhill took time to reflect on what she has meant to the cross country team.
"She has been a big part in what we have been doing here and what we want to do in the future," Berryhill said. "She has definitely meant a lot to our program."
In looking at what the team has accomplished this season and what lies ahead in the future, Berryhill seemed optimistic.
"We have a very young team on the women's side and I thought we progressed well throughout the year," Berryhill said. "I think we have set ourselves up really well going into next season, and hopefully we will get back to being one of the top 15 teams in the country."
Illinois senior Angela Bizzarri captured the individual championship with Washington sophomore Kendra Schaaf and Florida State senior Susan Kuijken finishing second and third, respectively.
On the men's side, Oklahoma State claimed the overall championship followed by second-place Oregon and third-place Alabama.
Liberty junior Samuel Chelanga claimed the individual championship with Northern Arizona junior David McNeill and Stanford sophomore Chris Derrick finishing in second and third.
