2009 NCAA Division III National Meet Individual Women's Results

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Carla Lewis' last collegiate meet came on the NCAA Division III's largest stage Saturday. Lewis ran one second off her personal best finishing 148th out of 279 runners with a time of 24:01.60 at the national championship meet.

Lewis was the first female runner in McMurry's school history to earn a trip to nationals after her sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region championships, which gave her the third all-region selection of her career.

The Tuscola native, ran at 11 a.m. EST at the Highland Park Golf Course in the 6K race and will always be known among McMurry cross country enthusiasts as the first woman to excel on the national stage.

Head coach David Chandler said that Lewis' performance was great and that the course was extremely muddy and full of hills. She ran a 24-flat earlier this season in Seguin at the Texas Division III championships, which marked the best time of her career in a 6K race.

There were only two runners from Texas in the entire 279-runner field. Trinity's Caitlin Masse placed eighth overall with a time of 22:21.70. Lewis and Mississippi College's Jennifer Cooper were the only two runners to represent the American Southwest Conference in the meet. Lewis finished ahead of Cooper who placed 190th with a time of 24:26.70.

Lewis wraps up her career as a two-time ASC Individual champion and her first-place finish as a freshman helped McMurry's women to the first and only team conference championship in the program's 14-year history.

She was also a three-time all-region selection, a two-time academic all-American, and she has a chance to pick up her third academic all-America selection later in February. She won numerous ASC Runner of the Week awards including four-straight to begin the 2009 season.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire took the NCAA Division III women's team championship while St. Lawrence's Wendy Pavlus won the individual crown with a time of 21:28.00.