The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named Washington University cross-country head coach Jeff Stiles the 2011 Division III Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year last week.

One year ago, the women’s cross-country team was thrilled just to be on the podium. Coming into the NCAA championship meet as the nation’s eighth-ranked team, the Bears leapfrogged over supposedly superior teams to finish second overall.

The Washington University women’s cross country team won an NCAA Division III National Championship for the first time in program history on Saturday, while the men’s team finished a best-ever third place.

By finishing in the top two of their respective races at the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday, the Washington University men’s and women’s cross-country teams clinched berths in the NCAA championship meet on Nov. 19. The No. 2 women’s team cruised to first place in a field of 38 on the 6K course in Rock Island, Ill. Seniors Erica Jackey and Liz Phillips (21:53.

The Washington University men’s and women’s cross country teams both clinched berths in the NCAA championship meet as the women’s team won the Midwest Regional while the men’s team finished in second place.

With the regular season successes of the Washington University volleyball, cross country and men’s and women’s soccer teams, a postseason berth was essentially a foregone conclusion for all four teams.

Led by individual champions Michael Burnstein and Erica Jackey, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams defended their UAA championship titles Saturday in Chicago. On a sunny day with temperatures in the high 40s, Burnstein claimed his second straight first-place finish in the men’s 8K race, with a time of 25:29.80.

Led by individual champions Michael Burnstein and Erica Jackey, the men’s and women’s cross country teams defended their UAA championship titles Saturday in Chicago. Burnstein claimed first place for the second straight year in the men’s 8K race with a time of 25.29.80. Jackey’s 22.08.82 time paced the women’s 6K field, which included five Bears [...]

Freshman Lucy Cheadle broke into the collegiate cross-country scene quickly, matching senior star Liz Phillips stride-for-stride in the season’s first meet, missing an individual title by a mere 0.3 seconds. That was on Sept. 3 at the Washington University Big River Running Early Bird Meet. Fast forward to Cheadle’s second race, Oct.

The No. 3 Washington University women’s cross country team and the No. 5 men’s cross country team overcame a course beset by heavy winds Saturday in what head coach Jeff Stiles deemed the best University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational performance in school history.