Women’s Cross Country End 2025 Season with 12th-Place Finish at Central Region Championships
JOPLIN, Mo. – The East Central University women's cross country team wrapped up their season at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships, hosted by Missouri Southern State University in Joplin on Saturday. The Tigers capped off the 2025 campaign with a strong showing, finishing 12th out of 36 teams in the 6k race and the best among Great American Conference programs.
Winona State claimed the team title, with Pittsburg State and Nebraska-Kearney following in second and third, respectively.
Leading the way for ECU was
Sheilah Bii, who clocked a time of 21:45.24 to place 22nd overall and earn All-Region honors with her top-25 finish.
Winnie Kipsang followed in 35th with a time of 22:06.77, while
Sheilah Cheruiyot placed 61st in 22:31.85. Rounding out the Tigers' scoring runners were
Mercy Kibiwott in 71st (22:38.96),
Madison Ham in 91st (22:59.71),
Stephanie Ojo in 114th (23:18.79), and
Damaris Chewon in 129th (22:37.14).
"The girls ran pretty good," Head Coach
Steve Sawyer said. "I thought we went out a bit too fast and couldn't maintain top 10 to the finish. Even though we weren't top 10 in the region, we were the top GAC team. That was a goal we set and we accomplished it. So, all in all I felt good about it. Of course, there are areas we can do better at and will get better at leading up to track."
