By Taylor Throckmorton '12

Full Results

GRANVILLE, Ohio - Senior Marisa Brown led five Gator runners who earned all-conference accolades, as Allegheny finished third at the 2014 North Coast Athletic Conference championship, hosted by Denison University.

The Gators finished with 64 points and were edged in the team standings only by first-place Oberlin and runner-up Ohio Wesleyan, who both competed in last year's NCAA championship, and entered this week in the national rankings.

Brown earned her first All-NCAC accolade by finishing third overall, with a time of 23:41.
 
"It was a very big day for Marisa and the perfect way for her to finish her conference career.  She ran confidently, and powered down the last 200 meters to catch two runners to finish third,"  said head coach Brent Wilkerson.  "I couldn't be more proud and she will be leading the women for our first attempt at making the national championship as a team in the last seven years."

Each of Allegheny's top five runners finished in the top 21 to earn All-NCAC honors.  Sophomore S.J. Guillaume (9th/24:12) and junior Alyssa Brindle (14th/24:39) were both Second Team honorees, while freshman Ariel Rittenhouse (17th/24:44) and junior Andy Sharfman (21st/24:51) each earned Honorable Mention.
 
 "We knew if our top 5 ran close together we would have great results and that's exactly what happened," Wilkerson said.  "The last two conference championships,  we left feeling like we could have done more, and while there are always things you feel you can improve on, this was the first championship that we left feeling like we worked hard as a team and our place reflected that,"  stated Wilkerson.  

Oberlin had four of the race's top six finishers, led by individual champion and NCAC Runner of the Year Emma Lehmann, to finish with 30 points, while Ohio Wesleyan tallied 46 points to finish second.  Nine of the top 10 finishers, and 14 of the first 17, came from either Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, or Allegheny.  
 
Coming off such a strong showing, the Gators will be looking to face fast in two weeks when they compete at the Mideast Regional Championship hosted by Dickinson College on Nov. 15.