For the first time in program history, the California University of Pennsylvania women’s cross country team captured the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship and qualified as a team for the NCAA National Championships, another first in program history, on Saturday morning.

    The Vulcans earned the regional title after featuring three top-20 finishers, including a pair of top-10 runners. Edinboro, who was the two-time, defending-regional champion, finished second in the team standings with 112 points, while Shippensburg (116), East Stroudsburg (126) and Slippery Rock (130) rounded out the top five on Saturday. Edinboro freshman Ida Narbuvoll earned the individual title by nearly nine seconds with a time of 20 minutes, 32.8 seconds.

    Junior Julie Friend (Markleysburg, Pa./Uniontown) placed third overall after crossing the finish line in 20:45.8 to mark her second-straight top-10 finish at the event. She has been the team’s top runner in all five events in which she has competed in this fall with a pair of individual titles. Last year, Friend finished in seventh place at the regional championships to qualify as an individual for the NCAA National Championships.

      Redshirt senior Alex Zanella  (Everett, Pa./Everett) posted a time of 21:05.6 to finish in seventh place while competing in a field of over 150 runners. As a junior in 2013, she qualified for the NCAA National Championships as an individual after placing fourth overall at the regional championships. Redshirt sophomore Summer Hill (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) placed 21st overall on Saturday after finishing with a time of 21:47.8.

      The trio of Friend, Zanella and Hill each received all-region laurels by finishing in the top 25. Freshman Alyson Pierce  (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) posted a time of 22:27.9 to finish in 37th place, while senior Alison Kimble (Morgantown, W.Va./University) rounded out the team scorers by finishing 41st overall with a time of 22:29.9.

     Freshman Maddie Thrasher Greenville, Pa./Greenville) and junior Shannon Bridges  (Saint Marys, Pa./Saint Marys) both also competed at the event. Thrasher finished in 65th place with a time of 23:13.7 and Bridges crossed the finish line with a time of 23:54.2 and 93rd overall.

     Cal U previously recorded its best-ever finish at the NCAA Regional Championships last year by finishing fourth in the team standings The Vulcans have finished in the top 10 of the team standings at three-straight championships after placing either 13th or 14th each year from 2009-12.

     The Vulcans return to action in two weeks when they compete at the NCAA National Championships on Nov. 21 in Joplin, Missouri.