It's safe to say that Kate Warwick '12 ended her cross country career with a bang.

 

Competing at the NCAA Division III National Championship on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin Osh Kosh, Warwick finished 48th out of 266 runners.

 

She qualified for the championship by turning in a notable 14th-place effort at the New England Division III Regional Championship last week at Bowdoin College.

 

"I had an awesome time," wrote Warwick in an email to the Justice.

 

"It was awesome! There are a ton of fans everywhere, and many people dress up, and everyone sprints from one part of the course to another [to catch different parts of the race.] It felt really cool to be running with the best in Division III."

 

Warwick, running as the only qualifier from both of Brandeis' cross country squads, said she had missed her team's presence at the tournament. It was tough to be in Wisconsin without any of her fellow teammates.

 

However, she received plenty of good wishes from teammates and friends, saying it was "amazing" to have so many people rooting for her.

 

Tactically, the senior ran a intelligent race. Following the first mile of the six-kilometer (3.72-mile) race, Warwick was in 78th. In the next leg of the race, she then moved up four spots in the second mile. Shortly after, Warwick turned in a five minute, 54 second third mile to move up to 50th. Warwick would pass two more runners in the last 1,200 meters of the course to finish with a notable time of 21:54.82. She ended the meet, and her cross country career with an average of 5:53 per mile.

 

As much as her finish was an individual achievement, Warwick was quick to credit coach John Evans.

 

"[Evans] has done everything for me," she wrote.

 

"He gave me my training schedules, my workouts and all of the tools that I needed to get to Wisconsin. He has worked with me so much and taught me how to listen to my body and also how to push myself to the max. I couldn't have gotten to Nationals without him."

 

Satisfied with the conclusion of her cross country career, the senior is looking forward to doing even more in her final year in a Judges uniform.

 

"I am moving on to indoor," she said. "I love indoor, and my goal is to qualify for Nationals in the 5 kilometer race. In the spring I want to tackle the 10 kilometer at least once and hopefully qualify for the 10 kilometer or 5 kilometer. The goal is always to [run a] personal record!"

 

While this would be quite the way to end her collegiate running career, she is certainly not done yet.

Based on what Warwick has already accomplished in her time with the cross country team, her upcoming two seasons in both winter and spring track could yield even more notable results.