Elizabeth Page (third from left) and her Swarthmore teammates celebrate their first-ever region championship. Photo courtesy of Swarthmore Athletics
One year after finishing just outside of a national qualifier, Elizabeth Page and Swarthmore are headed to the big dance.
The Division III standout from Anchorage navigated the 6-kilometer course in Logan Township, N.J., in 22 minutes, 27.3 seconds to place 12th individually, helping the Garnet win their first Metro Region Championship in program history — qualifying for their maiden trip to the national championships.
Page, a South High grad, raced confidently yet strategically, gradually moving up throughout the 3.7-mile race.
After clocking 5:58 for the opening mile, the sophomore found herself in 21st place before passing two competitors with just over one mile to go. In the final mile, Page overtook seven more runners to finish 12th, collecting All-Region honors for the second straight year and crossing the line as Swarthmore’s second scorer.
The Garnet weren’t far behind either, with all five scorers finishing in the top 22, spanning a mere 22 seconds — the smallest in the 25-team field. Six Garnet runners placed in the top-35 to claim All-Region accolades, the most for the squad in the past 15 years.
Amassing 71 points, Swarthmore outpaced The College of New Jersey by 32 points to claim the regional title.
Moravian’s Tara Smurla won the race in 21:11.
Swarthmore’s Elizabeth Page (199) of Anchorage. Photo by David Sinclair Photography
Last fall, Swarthmore finished just five points shy of nabbing the region’s lone team auto-qualifier, finishing runner-up to Rowan University. Page took 11th on that day and ultimately ended up two spots shy of qualifying individually.
The storyline draws striking parallels to the journey had by Ava Earl — Page’s former South High teammate — and Division I Northwestern, as both runners and programs overcame near misses last season to qualify for this year’s national championships. Not to mention, both programs have produced remarkable top-five spreads after entering the season unranked.
In five races this season, Swarthmore’s top five have been separated by 55 seconds or less, but their best showing by far has been winning the region championships.
The Garnet also won their season-opener at the Bryn Mawr Invite, placed fifth at the Main Line Invitational as the top D3 school, took 32nd at the loaded Paul Short Run and finished third at the Centennial Championships.
Perhaps most surprising, while Swarthmore didn’t shy from competition this season, they never appeared in the USTFCCCA national polls.
But that doesn’t matter, as the Garnet have proven stronger than ever and will get a chance to lineup against the nation’s best later this week.
The NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held in Spartanburg, S.C., on Nov. 22.
Other notable performances by Alaskans at the Division III level:
- Homer’s Seamus McDonough collected All-Region honors at the East Region Championships. The Bowdoin junior covered the 8K course in 25:22 to finish 24th individually — 12 spots higher than last fall — while leading the Polar Bears to a seventh-place showing out of 32 teams.
- Eagle River’s Emily Moore (Chugiak) earned All-Region honors at the West Region Championships, while battling intense rain and mud. The Puget Sound sophomore clocked 22:58 for 6K to place 30th — a whopping 30 places higher than last fall. Moore led the Loggers to a 10th-place finish out of 21 teams.
- Juneau’s Annika Schwartz also competed at the West Region Championships. The Whitman sophomore finished 138th in 27:11, improving by three spots from 2023, while The Blues finished 13th.
Bowdoin’s Seamus McDonough (Homer), Puget Sound’s Emily Moore (Chugiak), Whitman’s Annika Schwartz (Juneau) competed at their respective regional championships. Photos courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics, Puget Sound XC/TF, Whitman XC/TF
