Krista Jones will finish her freshman season at Friday’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Women’s Cross Country Championships in Washington State after placing ninth in both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA Atlantic Region Championships.
The Elk Lake graduate was the second runner for Lock Haven as it qualified for nationals as a team by taking third at the Atlantic Regionals, which were hosted by Mansfield University Nov. 19 at Lamb’s Creek Recreation Area in Tioga County.
The finish was the best for the Lock Haven team since taking second in 2011. It sent the Bald Eagles to the championships, which are being hosted by Seattle Pacific University at Chambers Creek Regional Park.
The three-time District 2 champion was a state medalist in both cross country and track and field while at Elk Lake. Jones worked her way through the cold, wind and mud to finish the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) course in 22:20.6 to place ninth out of 158 runners and earn All-Region honors.
Jones won the Kutztown DII/DIII Challenge in September and had a fourth-place invitational finish before her two top-10s in the postseason.
