NCAA Division II Championship Festival
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Slippery Rock University graduate student
Jen Harpp is set to close her collegiate cross country career Saturday at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships, hosted by Bellarmine University at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville.
Harpp, who already owns one of the most decorated cross country careers in Slippery Rock history, will attempt to add one final honor to her resume when she goes for her second consecutive All-America honor.
The top-40 finishers at the National Championships earn All-America recognition from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Last season, Harpp earned her first cross country All-America honor by placing 11th in the national meet. That performance was the highest finish by a Slippery Rock female in the history of the SRU cross country program.
Harpp, a native of Highland Heights, Ohio, is looking for her fifth career All-America honor, as she has three track and field accolades, two from outdoor track and field and one from indoor.
So far this season Harpp has only raced twice, at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships and at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championships. She sat out all of the races early in the season while recovering from a nagging injury that has hampered her racing ability since the 2009-10 indoor track and field season.
Without racing once all fall, Harpp still proved that she is one of the top runners in the region, placing fourth in the conference meet to earn All-Conference honors and third in the regional meet to earn All-Region accolades. She led The Rock to third-place finishes in the team standings at each of those championships.
Saturday's championship race is schedule to begin at noon and will follow the men's championship at 11 a.m.
The Division II National Championships in cross country are part of the Division II National Championship Festival, which also features the finals in men's and women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball, all of which will take place in Louisville this weekend. For more information about the DII Festival, visit the link at the top of this page.
