NCAC Distance Runner of the Year Katie Navarre is pictured with NCAC Commissioner Dennis Collins (left) and Ohio Wesleyan University President, Rock Jones (right).

Sophomore runner Katie Navarre (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) was named the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference Distance Athlete of the Year after winning the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters at the two-day NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships from Delaware, Ohio.

On Friday, Navarre broke a 15-year old NCAC record in the 10K and she returned on Saturday with a first place finish and a NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 5,000 meters.  Navarre completed the race in 17:12.51 to lock up the distance race double play.  The pair of wins caps off quite a year for the second-year star from Upper Arlington.  Navarre took second overall at the NCAC Cross Country Championship and placed ninth in the NCAA Division III Championship race, the highest individual finish ever by a DU runner.  She followed that with a second-place finish in the 5K at the NCAC Indoor Championships in March.  Now she will continue on to the Division III Outdoor Championships in late-May.

As a team Denison placed sixth overall with 83 points.  The 4x100 relay team comprised of Amanda Conley (Dublin, Ohio/Columbus Academy), Ashley Putnam (North East, Pa./North East), Maggie Snyder (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) and Alisha Stewart (Houma, La./La. School for MSA) placed third in 52.05 seconds.  Kirby Mosenthal (Briarcliff, N.J./Briarcliff) also placed third in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 12:06.64.

In the triple jump, Claire Navarro (Seal Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos) took fourth place in 31'10".  Emily Handelman (Rochester, N.Y./Penfield) placed sixth in the hammer with a throw of 101'6" and Putnam finished sixth in the 800 meters.

In the 100 meter dash Conley and Stewart placed seventh and eighth, respectively with times of 13.61 and 13.74.

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