Dixie State cross-country: Rachel Young finishes 28th at NCAA Championships; named to All-America team

JOPLIN, Mo. – For a day that was filled with many firsts, Dixie State women's cross-country runner Rachel Young finished 28th Saturday morning at the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Joplin, Mo.

Young, the first Dixie State runner to compete in the championships, was also the first to be named to the All-America team.

"Rachel's goal was to place in the top 40 to be named an All-American. We knew it would be tough but was definitely a reachable goal for her," head coach Justin Decker said.

Rachel crossed the finish line with a time of 21:10.2. She broke her own school record for a 6K race by over 44 seconds. It was set at the NCAA West Regional last year.

She finished strong; halfway through the race, she was sitting in 48th place and improved over 20 spots to secure the All-American honors.

"It's been an amazing experience for us to be here at the National Championship, but it's kind of bittersweet knowing that this was her last race in a Dixie State uniform after all that she has done and meant to our program," Decker said.

Alicia Nelson of Adams State won the individual title with a time of 20:03.3 and won by just over nine seconds.

Jeff Cluff is the Coordinator of Media Relations at Dixie State College Atheltics. Contact him at cluff@dixie.edu.