Villanova's Reid repeats as NCAA cross-country champ

To give herself a shot at repeating as the individual winner in the NCAA women's cross-country championships, Villanova's Sheila Reid had to leave the weight of expectations at the starting line and run a relaxed, patient race.

Reid, a fifth-year senior from Newmarket, Ontario, did just that Monday, kicking past Oregon's Jordan Hasay with about 150 meters to go and holding on to win the title for the second consecutive season on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Wildcats fell short in their bid for a third straight team title, capturing third place behind champion Georgetown and Washington.

Villanova was 13th in the NCAA men's cross-country championships, held concurrently.

Reid, who was timed in 19 minutes, 41.2 seconds for the 6,000-meter route, said she was the most comfortable she had been in all her NCAA cross-country races. For that, she gave credit to coach Gina Procaccio, who worked on the mental aspect as well as the physical training.

"Gina got me ready for this without making it seem like a lot of pressure," Reid said. "There certainly was pressure, but I was trying not to pay attention to it. I wanted to win because that's what I hold myself to, rather than worrying if I was going to satisfy other people's expectations. Gina kind of kept my nerves under control."

Reid spent the first half of the race as part of a pack chasing the pacesetter, then took control of the pack and was ready to make her move with 500 meters to go.

"I kind of felt like everyone was keying off me, waiting for me to make my move," she said.

She made a move, but Hasay, a junior, passed her. She sat on Hasay's right shoulder before making a closing burst and wondering whether it would be enough. It was, as Reid won by 0.6 seconds.

"I'm terrible at looking back, but I just wanted to make sure she was staying behind me," Reid said. "It was a tough last 100 meters, but I had to believe that I had the best kick."

Procaccio called Reid "awesome . . . a real competitor."

"There was a lot of pressure to defend and a lot of expectations on her," the coach said. "Everybody's gunning for her. But she's a true champion, and I thought she handled it really well."

Villanova senior Bogdana Mimic finished sixth overall (fourth for team scoring purposes) in 19:45.7. Other scorers were sophomores Emily Lipari and Nicky Akande, and junior Summer Cook.

"They ran well," Procaccio said. "It's not like they didn't perform what they were capable of, because they did. All I was hoping was that they would go out there and run their best, and I feel like they did."

Three Villanova men finished close together - senior Ryan Sheridan in 51st, junior Mathew Mildenhall in 55th, and freshman Sam McEntee in 58th. Sheridan's time was 30:31.0 for 10,000 meters.

"I think we were slightly disappointed; we thought we could be a top-10 team," coach Marcus O'Sullivan said. "I thought we ran well, but I also thought - and I think the guys felt - that we could have run better. But at the same time, as we reflected back, we won the Big East, which we hadn't done in a while. Overall, we had a relatively good year."