Pavlus wins nationals

St. Lawrence University junior Wendy Pavlus led from start to finish and claimed the national championship at the NCAA Division III women's cross-country race Saturday at the Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland.

The Tupper Lake native completed the 5-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 28 seconds, finishing 17.8 seconds ahead of defending national champion Marie Borner of Bethel (Minn.) College.

Pavlus became the second SLU runner to win a national title in cross country. Jukka Tamissau was an individual champion for the Saints men in 1988.

It's also the second major title in four years for Pavlus, who was a state champion in the girls 2000-meter steeplechase in her senior year of high school.

"This definitely is something very similar, even though the state title isn't as big of a level," Pavlus said. "It's something I've been working for, for a few years."

St. Lawrence's team also produced a strong showing, finishing in second place with 180 points, the program's best finish in history. Wisconsin-Eau Claire was the national champion with 171 points. Senior Johannah Ludington finished 12th (eighth in team placing) for the Saints, and sophomore Jenna Hulton was 15th (11th).

"We've all worked so hard to get here and to come here and do better than we expected was a great way to end the season," Pavlus said. "I think it will definitely be on our list to try and go out and do that (next season) and see how far we can go."

The course Saturday was hilly and a bit muddy, something SLU coach Mike Howard knew would be in Pavlus's favor.

"Tupper Lake has a lot of hills and a lot of muddy courses and that's what we got today," Howard said. "The conditions were perfect for her."

While Pavlus led from start to finish, there was a bit of a nervous moment when Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Ayla Mitchell, who wound up placing third, caught up to Pavlus with about a half mile to go.

"I could hear her coaches saying she is more of a sprinter and it was close to the end of the race," Pavlus said. "I'm definitely more of a longer-distance runner. I was pretty scared, but I wasn't going to give up."

What helped Pavlus push to the finish was encouragement from members of SLU's men's team, who were preparing for their own race at the conclusion of the women's event.

"I could hear some of my teammates cheering," Pavlus said. "I think it really helped that the team was here. I could hear the guys saying, 'How bad do you want it?'"

Pavlus impressed Howard with how she handled the late-race situation.

"That kind of really got Wendy going again to a point where she accelerated over the last half mile," Howard said.

When Pavlus won the state title in Kingston as a senior, she walked calmly off the track as if it was just another race. Her demeanor on Saturday was similar.

"She was very relaxed," Howard said. "She's quiet and unassuming. You wouldn't have known. She came over and gave us all hugs."

Saints sophomore McKayla Nuffer took 185th (24:23) and senior Hillary St. John 227th (25:00) to complete the team's scoring.

MEN'S RACE

St. Lawrence's Dan Ramsey finished fourth overall, running the 8-kilometer course in 25:35.7. Lynchburg's Ricky Flynn was the national champion, finishing in 25:09.8, followed by North Central (Ill.) runner Michael Spain in 25:32.2.

North Central claimed the team title with 50 points, followed by Williams with 181. SLU was 11th with 375 points.