The women defeated two-time defending champion Johns Hopkins by a single point to capture the second NCAA championship in program history. Junior Paige Lawler, graduate student Wayne, junior Sophie Watterson, senior Lisa Gorham and senior Molly Shepherd composed the group that brought the title back to Wash. U.

The Washington University men’s cross-country team placed second at the NCAA Championship, the new high-water mark in school history.

The Washington University women’s cross-country team captured the 2018 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship on Saturday. The Bears narrowly edged out two-time defending champion, Johns Hopkins University by a single point, 98-99 to win their second title in program history.

The Bears dominated Saturday at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wis. The women’s team won it all, earning an automatic ticket to next weekend’s NCAA Championship, while the men’s team came in third place before getting a nod from the selection committee Sunday to advance to the national meet.

Washington University ran away with their third straight sweep of the UAA conference championship after both the men and women’s cross-country teams took home first place honors. Instead, the tight battle happened between Wash. U.’s top runners as they duked it out for the top spots in the race.

Two weeks after both teams captured UAA titles the Bears competed in their penultimate race of the season—the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.

The men and women’s cross country teams swept the UAA Championship in Woodland Park, N.J.

On Nov. 21, 2015, Aly Wayne, not a member of the Washington University women’s cross-country team just a month earlier, was the second-fastest Bear and the 47th fastest Division III runner at the NCAA Championships in Wisconsin, far from the fields of St. Louis.

The Washington University women’s cross-country team finished second, while the men’s team finished fourth Saturday at the NCAA Division III Championships at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky.

The women’s cross-country team qualified for the NCAA championship with a strong first place performance this weekend at Lake Breeze Golf Course near Winneconne, Wis. Saturday.