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Carlstrom Earns All-America Status with 16th Place at NCAA Cross Country Championship
Sophomore sets Patriot League record for best finish by a female

Keira Carlstrom finished 16th at the NCAA Championship meet Monday.

Nov. 24, 2003 | Results

WASHINGTON - Sophomore Keira Carlstrom (Oakton, Va./Oakton) finished in 16th place out of 252 runners in Monday’s NCAA cross country championship meet, earning All-America honors for her effort. The 16th place showing is the best finish ever by a Patriot League woman runner.

Carlstrom ran the 6,000-meter course in 20:23.5, just 17 seconds out of the top 10. Shalane Flanagan of North Carolina won the meet in a time of 19:30.4. The 16th-place finish bests the previous Patriot League record of 60th place, set by American’s Samia Akbar in last year’s championship race.

The finish caps a superb cross country season by Carlstrom. Carlstrom won the first four races she ran in the season, including the George Washington Invitational and the Maryland Invitational. She then captured the Patriot League Runner of the Meet award by winning the league’s championship meet in a time of 20:02.8. Carlstrom earned a berth in the championship meet with a third-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, which qualified her for All-Region honors.

Carlstrom is just the second female AU runner, behind Akbar, to compete in the NCAA championship meet.