October 27, 2007 -- Led by first-year Joanna Johnson's first-place finish and North Coast Athletic Conference Title, the Oberlin women's cross country team placed second at today's NCAC Championships in Gambier, Ohio. The Yeowomen finished just one point behind winner Allegheny. The Yeomen placed sixth out of 10 teams with 152 points.

It didn't take long for Johnson to pull away from the pack and establish a strong lead. The first-year ran a gutsy and impressive race to win by 11 seconds and become the NCAC's Runner and Newcomer of the Year. Also having strong runs for Oberlin were senior Marie Barnett (23:30, 10th place), junior Nicky Ouellet (23:34, 11th place), senior Alison Doniger (23:43, 13th place), and first-year Erica Grohol (24:19, 24th place). Johnson, Barnett, Ouellet, and Doniger each received All-NCAC accolades.

The Yeomen were paced today by junior Conor Doss, who paced 20th to earn All-NCAC recognition (27:00). Classmate Everett Schlawin finished closely behind Doss with a 21st-place finish of 27:02. First-year Albert Davila placed 33rd with a time of 27:21, junior Ryan King clocked in at 27:27 for 35th place, and junior Collin Anderson rounded out Oberlin's top five with a 43rd-place finish of 27:51.

Said Head Coach Ray Appenheimer, "I'm really proud of how the teams competed today. This team showed a tremendous amount of character and drive, and we're looking forward to continuing to improve at regionals."

Oberlin will travel to Calvin College on November 10 (11:00 a.m.) for the NCAA regionals.