Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
NCAA Championships
Bishel Places 67th At NCAA Cross Country Championships
November 23, 2009 | Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - - Wearing bib No. 67, Ball State redshirt junior Ali Bishel (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) posted a 6K time of 21:04.7 to place 67th at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships Monday afternoon at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
Bishel, a First Team All-Mid-American Conference selection, finish in the top fourth of the field of 254 runners, while falling 20.2 seconds shy of All-America honors which go to the top 40 runners.
Illinois' Angela Bizzarri captured the NCAA Individual Championship by winning the meet in a time of 19:46.8. Villanova captured the team title with 86 points, as all five of its top runners placed in the top 26.
Entering the 2K mark of the Monday's championship meet, Bishel was 14 seconds off the race-winner's pace with a time of 6:37. Bishel entered the 4K split with a time of 13:39 and was able to pass several runners in the final portion of the race, finishing with a career-fast 6K time of 21:04.7.
Bishel was appearing in her second NCAA Cross Country Championship race. In 2007, she placed 52nd out of 253 participants on the same championship course.
MEET PREVIEW
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - - After turning in a seventh-place finish and a time of 21:07.07 at the 2009 Great Lakes Regional Saturday, Ball State cross country redshirt junior Ali Bishel (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) has earned one of the region's four automatic bids into the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Indiana State University will host the Championships, November 23, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's race will begin at approximately 12:08 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the women's race at approximately 12:58 p.m. Both championship races will be broadcast live on Versus Network and streamed online via NCAA.com.
"The staff and I are proud of and excited for Ali," said BSU head coach Randy Heisler. "After qualifying for NCAA's two years ago and redshirting last season, Ali came back with high expectations for this year. When she is in the zone, she is a great runner and we saw that Saturday."
Bishel earned the Great Lakes Region's first individual automatic bid after Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State all earned team at-large bids into the NCAA Championship meet. With all three of those teams making the field, Bishel was the top individual runner remaining in the field.
"Ali put herself out there Saturday and was in position to win the regional," added Heisler. "She is excited about the opportunity to run at the NCAA's on a course she has already won at once this year. Ali will be ready to go. The top 40 finishers at the NCAA Championships earn all-America status, and that is the goal for Ali."
Also earning automatic bids from the Great Lakes Region were Caitlin Comfort (Wisconsin), Ari Fisher (Toledo) and Alexandra Lizarribar (Kent State).
In the Cardinals first official meet of the 2009 season, Bishel turned in a 5K time of 17:28 to win the Indiana Intercollegiates Women's Big Race which was hosted by Indiana State at the site of the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
