Ellingson finishes 46th at Nationals

CLEVELAND - In her first appearance in a national cross country meet, Simpson junior Catie Ellignson was not intimidated.

Simpson's first national qualifier in 18 years, Ellingson fought to a 46th-place finish of 280 runners Saturday at the 2009 NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championship hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College. The native of Indianola, Iowa completed the 6-kilometer course in 23:04.5, 11 places away from All-American status.

"Catie ran outstanding today," head coach Brad Hofer said. "The course was very sloppy today, making it hard to move up on the kind of competition she was facing."

Of the 45 runners that finished ahead of Ellingson, 26 are seniors, which gives Hofer high hopes for next season.

"Catie really showed her toughness today, and I'm really proud of her," Hofer said. "With the number of graduating runners that finished ahead of her, I feel like she's in a good spot to finish well next year."