The Rowan women’s cross country team punched their first-ever ticket to the Division III National Championship, after winning the NCAA Metro Regional for the first time in team history. The Profs came out on top with 81 points. 

Mia Guerra and Anna Sasse were the two highest finishers for the Profs on Saturday, Nov 16. The other members who were part of the top five scoring were Ally Wernik who was 12th (22:50.4), Gabriella Pagano, who finished in 15th (23:03.3), and Emily Zanni was 40th (23:54.8).

Each and every single one of these runners will be important for Rowan this Saturday at the NCAA Division III Championships and coach Shedrick Elliott III gave us some insight into the Profs’ strategy for insight into their impressive season.

Elliott stated that “staying together as a pack,” and “consistently and progressively improving” each race were the keys to the Profs’ success this season. 

Mia Guerra highlighted the Profs’ success on Saturday, with a sixth-place finish and a time of 22:17.1. Guerra says that some of her biggest supporters are her coaches.

“They always knew that I would bounce quicker than I did back than I did, they said ‘We knew you were gonna get there,'” Guerra said. 

During the Regional this past Saturday, there was a turning point for her.

“Especially the last [kilometer] was where I kicked it because I was in seventh at that time,” Guerra said. “And I was like I gotta go, it’s now or never. I literally gave it all I had.”

Not too far behind her was Sasse, who, just like last year, finished in eighth with a time of 22:18.9. Despite placing in the same rank, there were two different mindsets between last year’s Regional and this year. Sasse, like Guerra, credits her training and her coaches to help with the pressure that comes with running like every race is your last. 

“These past few races, I’ve been trying to stop counting down and soak it up as much as possible because, as coach Eric Dubois says, ‘There’s no place I’d rather be.’ I’ve been pretty emotional about cross country coming to an end because this sport has become something that I define myself with,” Sasse said. “Being that Saturday is my last race, my goal is to leave everything out there and enjoy every step.”

To Guerra it was also unclear if she would return for her fifth season with the Profs, saying that there was “no definite yes.” She mentioned how her parents pushed her to come back as well and now she gets a shot at making history for this Profs team. 

While Guerra’s decision to come back was partially from her parents, Sasse feels a similar sense of pride, since she’s from the area.

“I absolutely love being local. I often see my high school coaches who follow my journey at Rowan and have witnessed my growth as an athlete and engineer,” Sasse said. “I also love running with my former high school teammates, Mackenzie Saber, Gianna Burgio, and Paige Franklin, who have also decided to come to Rowan to run. I run with a great sense of pride knowing that I am supported by my hometown that is so close by.”

Guerra and the rest of the team are preparing for the National Championship just like any other race, although Guerra does have a different level of excitement for this meet.

“Definitely really excited for that, it should be a good weekend,” Guerra said.

Despite all the hype, Elliott wants his team to focus on the long-term success that they’ve had, rather than the short-term. He feels that since it’s the team’s first time, there’s no pressure.

“Since it’s our first time out [there], soaking up the experience, lay the foundation and run the race they’ve been doing,” Elliott said. 

Thirty-two teams will take part in the National Championship race on Nov. 23  in Terre Haute Indiana, hosted by Rose-Hulman. Rowan is part of the top 10 teams that qualified automatically with there being an additional 22 teams in a 32-team field. 

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