Follow Along: Live video will be available for a fee through FloTrack at https://www.flotrack.org/signup?redirect=%2Flive%2F8870-2019-diii-ncaa-xc-championships. Live results will be available through the fantastic services of Leone Timing at https://results.leonetiming.com/xc.html?mid=1885.
Championship Schedule: The course is available for preview by the competitors on Thursday and Friday. The Championship banquet is held on Friday night at 6:30 p.m, and awards from the USTFCCCA will be presented along with the NCAA Elite 90 award, which is given to the competing athlete with the highest grade point average at the championship site. The women's six kilometer championship will take place at 11:45 a.m, an hour following the men's eight kilometer start. Individual and team awards will be presented following the race.
The Course: EP Sawyer Park is the home course of the Louisville Cardinals. The course has hosted a number of NCAA and NAIA Championships, and also hosted the Big East Conference Championship back in 2011. It will be among the flattest courses Stinson has seen all year, with a few small rolling inclines throughout. It is almost entirely a dirt and grass surface, save for a brief paved stretch late in the race. The course will also host the championship in 2021.
The Conditions: The weather for Saturday's race is set to be cold and rainy, with a near certain chance of rain, and a forecasted high temperature of just 44 degrees. Such conditions could play to Stinson's advantage, as she is known throughout the region as a strong cold weather racer.
The Field: The field will feature the very best competitors the nation has to offer, with 32 full teams expected and a host of others competing as individuals. Washington-St. Louis is the reigning women's team champion, and their roster features defending individual champion Paige Lawler. They are also currently the No. 1 team in the country. From the Atlantic Region, the committee took four at-large squads in addition to the top two teams in the region, which helped pave the way for Stinson's entrance to the meet with the top seven individuals not on an advancing team punching their ticket to the national meet.
All-Region Honors: Stinson has been named an All-Region selection by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association. The award was announced by the group earlier this week. She has now been named All-Region in three straight cross country seasons.
All-American Consideration: Stinson is a three time all-region selection. To add All-American to her list of honors, she would have to run in the top 40 on Saturday.
Runner of the Week: Stinson was also selected as the Empire 8 Conference Women's Runner of the Week following her performance at the regional meet this weekend. That award was announced on Monday.
Her End Of The Deal: Stinson delivered a performance worthy of national consideration on Saturday. She had the best finish at a regional meet in her career, and the second-best regional finish in school history. She ran to a 17th place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals in Canton, NY. She clocked a time of 23:06 on the six kilometer course, and improved her time by over a minute from the pre-regional meet held a month prior. She was the No. 5 individual competitor selected from the Atlantic Region once the At-Large teams were chosen. Seven individual spots were available from each region.
Experience Matters: Stinson becomes Utica's first two-time NCAA Cross Country Championships qualifier with her entry into Saturday's meet. She ran to a program-best 180th place finish a season ago in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the 2018 edition of the Championship. She crossed the line in 23:08.
Time Management: Stinson was impressively able to qualify for nationals even amidst a challenging schedule on and off the course. While putting in a full training and racing schedule, Stinson has also been pursuing her doctorate in Physical Therapy.