Returning to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in a decade, the New York University women's cross country team produced a 26th-place finish on the 6k Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing, MI, on Saturday, November 19.

NYU had not qualified as a team since its sixth-place national finish in 2013, though several individuals had qualified during that span.

On Saturday, graduate student Grace Richardson became NYU's first All-American since that 2013 season by finishing in 37th place (22:43.4). That year, both Emiliy Cousins and Lily Corsaro earned the honor.

"Grace was in 41st place with only 1k to go," explained Head Coach Tyler Deck Shipley. "It was a great finish. I'm so excited for her to be an All-American."

Crossing the tape second for the Violets was freshman Janie Cooper in 175th place (23:56.7). She was followed closely by freshman Daniela Sekhar (187th 23:59.7) and senior Leah Haley (189th, 24:03.5).

Sophomore Katherine Cheng (233rd, 24:24.3) was NYU's fifth scorer.

Senior Hannah Marin (252nd, 24:38.3) and freshman Estelle Gladden (277th, 25:12.5) also competed for the Violets.

"I'm super excited about the progress we've made considering how young we are," Deck Shipley said. "This is a young team competing at the highest level on the biggest stage. They all ran tough and I'm excited about our future."     

As a team, the Violets totaled 601 points, just 15 behind 25th-place Emory University.

Johns Hopkins University won the 32-team, 292-runner competition with 144 points, just three ahead of second-place University of Chicago.