Jessica Monson wraped-up her record setting UW-Parkside cross country career at Saturday's NCAA II National Championships with a fifth place finish. The event was held in Slippery Rock, Penn.
Monson's time for the 6000m course was 21:38. She was 29 seconds behind champion Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific. Neely Spence, 21:27, placed second (Shippensburg PA), Shannon Payne of Colorado Springs (21:29) third, and Heather Wood, from team champion Adams State (CO) (21:37) fourth.
The race was held on a very challenging Cooper Lake Campground Course that offered hills similar to the UW-Parkside course, but with a 1 to 2 inches of snow cover that made for less than ideal footing, along with temperatures in the mid 20s. Monson stayed off of the front pace that was set by Pixler from the start, coming through the 1 mile mark in the back of a group that was made up of eighth through 12th place. She continued with the same pack over the second mile, but edged to the front of that group and pulled away, as well as moving up to the fifth spot during the third mile. She closed up on Wood from Adams State, as well as pulling away from a group that was within a few seconds over the final 1200m.
Monson commented to Coach Mike De Witt that she felt great during the race and her first reaction was that it was one of the best races she had run, feeling like she couldn't have run any better, but didn't leave anything on the course as well. De Witt said, "Jessica ran a great race, she didn't let anything distract her from working into the Top Five, which is something she felt was possible. She has been a great example for the team as to how to compete and race at maximum, week-in and week-out."
Monson wrapped up a record-setting year. She became the all-time UW-P women's cross country won-lost leader (5,284 Wins and 258 Defeats 95.3%) surpassing, former leader Amber Antonia, runner-up Michelle Rohl, and the likes of Kim Merritt and Wendy Burman. She compiled the best individual season won/lost record of 1,637 wins and 8 defeats (99.5%). She earned the highest individual finish at an NCAA cross country championship (her fifth place finish surpassed Deb Spino's seventh place finish at the 1982 championships) and became the sixth UW-Parkside women's cross country runner to earn a Top Five individual finish (she joined '76 Kim Merritt, third at AIAW, '80 Wendy Burman NAIA National Champion, Deb Spino, third at the NAIA '81, Michelle Rohl, second Place '87 NAIA, and Amy Haines, fifth at the '94 NAIA)
Monson became the first UW-P women's cross country runner to capture three NCAA All-American awards. She finished 14th at last fall's championships held at Missouri Southern and in 2006 placed 36th at the championships held at West Florida. Each finish earned her an All-American award. As a freshman, she was the teams No. 4 finisher and placed 80th in the championship held at Cal Poly Pomona. She has also earned five individual track All-American awards, placing in the Top 8 at a national meet, with her best finish a second place in the 1500m last spring. Monson also has been part of two All-American distance medley relays.
She was the programs first individual qualifier as the UW-P team did not advance to the national meet for only the third time in the 14 years that the program has been exclusively a part of Division II. The program has competed at the NCAA II Championships as a team, 14 times since 1982, which is the fourth best of all current active Division II programs. Including all programs since 1981, it is the tied for the sixth most times a program has qualified for the national meet as a team. This fall, Monson led the program to a runner-up spot in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and a seventh place finish at the Midwest Regional. The team compiled a
