Nittany Lions 16th at NCAA Cross Country Championship, Barrett earns All-American honors

Tessa Barrett finished as an All-American on Saturday afternoon, helping Penn State tally a 16th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Barrett, a redshirt freshman, recorded a time of 20 minutes, 26.7 seconds, and became the first USTFCCCA All-American Nittany Lion since Caitlin Lane’s 16th-place finish in 2011.

As a team, the Penn State women scored 396 points, as all five runners scored inside the top 160.

Nittany Lions coach John Gondak said the team’s goal was to finish higher than 16th, but was pleased, especially with Barrett’s performance.

“She raced with a lot of poise out there in her first national championships and came away with a coveted All-American honor,” Gondak said.

Barrett said Penn State’s team mentality benefited her personal showing.

“It was a really great race, and it was great to be out there working hard with everyone else,” Barrett said. “I had an idea that I was close (to being an All-American) so I knew I was definitely going to have to maintain and close hard over the final stretch through the shoot to the finish line.”

Following Barrett for Penn State was Tori Gerlach (98th, 20:49.3), Elizabeth Chikotas (102nd, 20:50.4), Jillian Hunsberger (152nd, 21:12.8) and Stephanie Aldrich (157th, 21:15.1).

The cohesive effort was a cap to a nice season for the Nittany Lions.

“It’s been a phenomenal season with a Big Ten championship and a Mid-Atlantic Regional championship,” Gondak said. “Our women’s team should be very proud of how they performed this year after not making the national meet last year.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Nittany Lions 16th at NCAA Cross Country Championship, Barrett earns All-American honors."