Carl Becomes 2nd All-American In Southern Maine History

GORHAM, Maine -- Junior Molly Carl (York, Maine) became the second member in the history of the University of Southern Maine women's cross country program to earn All-America honors Saturday when she placed 27th overall at the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships held at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wis.

Carl, who was the just the sixth USM female runner to qualify for the NCAA national championship, joins Penny Osborne on the Huskies All-America list. Osborne earned her All-America honor in 1999.

Competing in the elite field that included 277 finishers, Carl completed the 6,000-meter course in a time of 21:35.48. Running in the lead pack, she covered the first mile in 5:35 to settle in the 25th position. Carl went through the two-mile mark in 29th place at 11:27, and picked up three positions by the three-mile mark with a split time of 17:20. Carl was the seventh finisher among the athletes representing schools from the New England Region.

Sophomore Chiara Del Piccolo of Williams College was the individual champion crossing the finish line in 20:52.08. Washington University (Mo.), second a year ago in the national championship, captured the team title with 70 points. Defending champion Middlebury College in second place with 111. Williams (153), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (223) and MIT (276) round out the top five teams.

The NCAA championship concludes USM's cross country season. Carl and her teammates open the 2011-12 indoor track and field season on December 10 competing in the first of three USM Invitational events this winter.

                                                                          -ble-