TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- For the second straight season, the Kenyon College women's cross country team secured a sixth-place finish at the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship. The team's finish at the 6k LaVern Gibson Championship Course was the Owls' second-best placement this fall.

Kenyon tallied 173 points as a team, putting the Owls in a mix of teams that were relatively tight in the standings. The fourth through seventh-place teams were only separated by 54 points, just a few more points than the gap between third and fourth place. DePauw University, who hosted the NCAC finale, ran away with the win. The Tigers took the Championship with a team total of 26 points to secure the program's first NCAC crown. Wittenberg University, winners of two straight NCAC titles, finished second with 49 points, while Ohio Wesleyan University (71) rounded out the top three. Oberlin College (120) and Denison University (147) finished just ahead of Kenyon. The College of Wooster placed seventh with 174 points, and Hiram College rounded out the championship field with 217 points.

Olivia Ide paced the Owls, finishing 24th individually and scoring 21 points with a time of 24:12.29. The sophomore narrowly missed out on her second All-NCAC award in as many seasons as the top 21 individual finishers earned all-conference honors.

Kenyon's remaining four scorers finished within seven places of one another, including a trio of Owls who flew across the finish line in formation. Lucie Prior, Ellianne Retzlaff, and Amelia Sims clocked in consecutively, placing 42nd, 43rd, and 44th, respectively. Prior scored 36 points after stopping the clock at 25:16.52, followed by Retzlaff at 25:21.07 and Sims at 25:23.41. Penny Griffioen rounded out Kenyon's scoring with 41 points after finishing 48th with a time of 25:41.38.

Individually, DePauw runners took the top two spots. Lily Monnett paced the NCAC field at 22:05.85.

With the conference finale in the books, Kenyon's next outing is scheduled for Saturday, November 16, when the Owls have a chance to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship in Franklin, Indiana. The squad hopes to make the regional its penultimate outing by qualifying as either a team or as individuals for the NCAA Championship, which is scheduled for Saturday, November 23, on the same LaVern Gibson Championship Course that the Owls ran today.