PEORIA, ILL. -- The Drake women's cross country team finished its season by placing 17th in the NCAA Midwest Regional meet Saturday. Hosted by Bradley University, the meet was held at the Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill.

Four seniors closed out their cross country careers at Drake led by Casey McDermott (Newton, Iowa) who finished 57th with a time of 21:31.37. Drake senior Tara Scieszinski (Albia, Iowa) was 99th in 22:06.87.

Fellow senior Meredith Bell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) finished in 112th place in 22:25.16. Drake senior Katie Coomer (Overland Park, Kan.) was close behind Bell, placing 116th in 22:30.76.

Freshman Erin Poss (Antioch, Ill.) was 127th with a time of 22:39.86. Junior Kirsten Lake (Parker, Colo.) ran a time of 23:19.54 to finish 152nd, and freshman Amanda Marwitz (Crystal Lake, Ill.) ran the course in 23:21.56 to finish in 155th place.

The Bulldogs placed ahead of both Bradley and Southern Illinois which had finished in front of Drake in the recent Missouri Valley Conference Championship.

"As a team it was a better way to end our season and will serve as momentum for next year as well as the indoor season," said Drake head coach Dan Hostager. "We didn't place where we wanted, but I was very pleased with our efforts across the board."


NCAA Midwest Regional
Team Scoring
1. Iowa State 34; 2. Oklahoma State 105; 3. Minnesota 118; 4. Tulsa 133; 5. Kansas State 154; 6. Kansas 192; 7. Iowa 208; 8. Nebraska 233; 9. Illinois 236; 10. Wichita State 253; 11. Northwestern 315; 12. Missouri 321; 13. Illinois State 408; 14. Missouri State 409; 15. Saint Louis 478; 16. Drake 493; 17. North Dakota State 495; 18. Bradley 516; 19. Southern Illinois 522;  20. Eastern Illinois 549; 21. DePaul 559; 22. Loyola Chicago 564; 23. South Dakota State 647; 24. Northern Illinois 717; 25. Oral Roberts 737; 26. Creighton 781; 27. Southeast Missouri State 814

Individual winner - 1.  Stephanie Price, Minnesota, 20:01.48
Drake Results -- 57. Casey McDermott, 21:31.37; 99. Tara Scieszinski, 22:06.87; 112. Meredith Bell, 22:25.16; 116. Katie Coomer, 22:30.76; 127. Erin Poss, 22:39.86; 152. Kirsten Lake, 23:19.54; 155. Amanda Marwitz, 23:21.56;