VANCOUVER, WASH. (Nov. 26, 2019) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's cross-country team competed in the 40th Annual NAIA Cross-Country National Championship. The event was held at the Fort Vancouver Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.

The women finished in 36th place out of 37 teams in the 5k race that featured 340 runners with an overall time of 1:50:07.

Head Coach Stephen Sherman said, "To be quite honest the meet did not go all that well for us. We were among the best runners in the country, we were on a great course, and we had great weather conditions but we did not take full advantage. I was pleased with some individual efforts to be sure, but at the end of the day it did not measure up to what our groups are capable of. That, of course, comes back to me. Though I thought we were ready to go we were not. I will need to reflect carefully about how my approach needs to change in the future."

Sherman continued, "The NAIA meet certainly was not the way any of us wanted to end the season, but I am proud of the women for how they handled themselves throughout the season. I am extremely proud of how hard everyone worked and how loyal most were to the system, so to speak. Overall it was definitely a solid season. I am also confident all of the athletes have a great base to work with now going into the track seasons. There is a lot of talent and potential in both groups. It is exciting."

Sabrina Garcia (SO/Brownsville, Texas) crossed the line first for the Saints with a time of 20:57.5 for 276th place. Lindsey Broussard (FR/Kingwood, Texas) followed with a 21:22.4 time for a 288th place finish.

Robbie Espericueta marked a time of 22:09.6, followed by Andrea Gandara (SR/Kaufman, Texas) at 22:41.4, Alyssa Vidales (FR/San Antonio, Texas) at 22:56.8, Kimber Watson (SO/Kingwood, Texas) at 23:27.4 and Nadia Sifuentes (FR/Brownsville, Texas) at 23:45.1.

The women's cross-country team will get ready to participate in the track and field season that begins in early spring 2020.