RedStorm women place 3rd in RSC meet; Kerns, Hamm headed to nationals

Rio Grande Sports Information
     EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A trio of runners from the University of Rio Grande finished in the top six to lead the RedStorm's efforts in Saturday's River States Conference Women's Cross Country Championships at the Angel Mounds Cross Country Course.
     Amarissa Kerns finished third, while Laura Hamm took fifth place and Mackenzie McCarthy was sixth for Rio Grande, which finished third in the team competition with 80 points.
     Indiana University East won its second straight RSC crown with 47 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Shawnee State University (74 pts.).
     IU East earned the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship, which is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 22, at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.
     Kerns, a junior from Lancaster, Ohio, finished the 6k course in a time of 22:55, well behind individual medalist Cassandra Schrubb of Indiana East (22:11) and runner-up Olivia Cisco of Shawnee State (22:14).
     Hamm, a freshman from South Point, Ohio, was named the RSC Newcomer of the Year after grabbing fifth place in 23:27.
     McCarthy, a senior from Akron, Ohio, was sixth after crossing in a time of 23:43.
     Cisco, Kerns, Trinity Smith of Midway and Hamm - as the top four individual finishers who were not members of the winning team - also qualified for the national championship.
     Also representing the RedStorm was redshirt junior Grace Forrest (Woodstock, OH), who was 27th in a time of 25:27; freshman Kylie Gilmore (Ironton, OH), who grabbed 43rd place in a time of 27:19; and freshman Rebecca Spohn (New Concord, OH), who was 47th with a mark of 28:03.
     By finishing among the top seven individuals, Schrubb, Cisco, Kerns, Smith, Hamm and McCarthy were all named to the All-RSC First Team. The list also included Chloe Scales from IU East.
     Those who finished in positions 8-15 were named to the All-RSC Second Team.
     That list was comprised of Emily Fleming and Samantha Fowler of IU East; Abby Cunningham and Ariah Egleston from Midway; Jessick Elick of Shawnee State; Indiana University Kokomo's Leslie Sprankles; Quinlan Teague of St. Mary-of-the-Woods; and Brett Kleber from Indiana University Columbus.
     The All-RSC Third Team, which included finishers 16-22, featured Brescia's Mallory Wilson; Shawnee State's Elizabeth Middleton and Juniper Allen; Evelyn Hasenour of IU East; Jessica York of WVU Tech; and IU Kokomo's duo of Hannah Wells and Alysha Crouch.
     Schrubb was the RSC Runner of the Year and Cam Tiberg from IU East was named Coach of the Year.