Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Updated (But Still Incomplete) Top Penn State Womens Cross Country Runners Of All-Time

Through extensive searches requiring Herculean efforts (Google and even email!) and the actual transfer of legal tender, I obtained AIAW XC Championship Results of 1976 (partial), 1977 (total) and 1978 (partial).



These efforts were facilitated by Sarah Adams and the wonderful people at Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections and Archive.  She has been granted an honorary membership in our group and joins Jeri Elder and Kay Warfel as a Digital Archive Goddess on the right sidebar.  She will probably be somewhat confused by how much I paid for the few specific items I needed, but I am very thankful for them.  It gives me a little street cred when I say I am trying to run all of this stuff down, and come through with at least some of it.  Still looking for the results of 1975, 1979 and 1980! Only a troll under a bridge seems to have them.

So we can add a few names to the listing of the Greatest PSU Womens Cross Country Runners of All-Time!   I had the math intern retire to the basement with a calculator and figure out the results using the same arbitrary, self-serving and non-meticulous method I used before.  There are many ways to answer the question, but this method pleases my friends and infuriates some others.  You are welcome to promote your own listing as you please.  And Pete Rose is still the greatest baseball player of all-time, just in case you wanted to know!

 The Top Penn State Women Cross Country Runners Of All-Time (Including AIAW results 1976, 1977 1nd 1978 and all NCAA results 1981 to present):

New members in red


  1. Kathy Mills Parker - 3rd 1976, 1st 1977 and 3rd 1978 for 133.8 points.
  2. Liz Berry Larsen - - 11th 1976 and 16th 1977 for 66.4 points.
  3. Bridget Franek - 23rd 2008, 26th 2009 for 52.8 points.
  4. Susanne Heyer - 14th 2000 for 36.7 points.
  5. Caitlin Lane - 16th 2011 for 35.0 points.
  6. Kris Bankes - 15th 1977 for 33.0 points.
  7. Stacia Prey* - 23rd 1985, 41st 1987, 31st 1988 for 30.1 points.
  8. Kimberly Kelly - 27th 1992, 35th 1994 for 28.4 points.
  9. Kimberly McGreevy - 28th in 1996 for 19.4 points.
  10. Heather Carmichael - 31st 1981, 43rd 1983 for 13.1 points.
  11. Tessa Barrett - 38th 2015 for 13.0 points.
  12. Doreen Startare McCoubrie - 28th in 1982 for 12.0 points.
  13. Kelli Hunt - 42nd 1992, 44th 1993 for 11.4 points.
  14. Colleen Glyde - 41st 1992 for 7.1 points.
  15. Wendy Nelson - 43rd 1990 for 5.6 points.
  16. Torri Perri - 47th 2012 for 4.0 points.
  17. Erin St. John - 46th 1994 for 3.6 points.
  18. Jennifer Weaver - 46th 1993 for 3.6 points.
  19. Meredith White - 45th 1984 for 2.6 points.   
Liz Berry Larsen, 2nd from left.
Kris Bankes.
*Thanks to Hugh Hamill for the correction of Stacia Prey's name, (not Perry as in the "official" results. The intern has been sacked.