Denison senior Olivia Galano competed in the 2013 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship in Hanover, Ind. on Saturday. It marked the first appearance for Galano at the Division III national championship race in a sport was introduced to only three years ago.
Galano would complete the 6K course in 22:22.5 which landed her in 68th place out of 280 runners. Galano's pace averaged out to a six minute mile. The winning pace was 5:41 set by St. Scholastica's Chelsea Johnson. The senior posted a winning time of 21:11.7, outdistancing second-place Noell Olson of St. Olaf by 11 seconds. The team national title was captured by Johns Hopkins University who finished with 85 points, powered by third-place, 10th place and 11th place individual finishers.
Galano qualified for the national championship race by placing eighth at last week's NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich. Three weeks ago she became the fourth runner from Denison to win the North Coast Athletic Conference championship. After the race she was named the NCAC Runner of the Year.
Galano will return to competition in January as a member of the track & field team.
