by on 2015-11-12

It was officially announced that the University of Redlands women's cross country team received multiple honors among the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (SCIAC) postseason awards. As determined by their top-10 finishes at the SCIAC Championships on Oct. 31, senior Lauren Roberts (Portland, OR), freshman Etta Eckerstrom (Lake Forest, IL), and junior Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga) all landed on the All-SCIAC First Team. Roberts took second at the meet with a time of 22:49.48, while Eckerstrom and Snincsak joined forces as a dynamic duo for the Bulldogs, completing the race in 23:49.03 for seventh place and 23:50.28 for eighth place, respectively. Furthermore, the head coaches tabbed Roberts as a co-recipient of the Celia Peterson Award, which recognizes sincerity of purpose in academic pursuits, sportsmanship, determination, leadership, and athletic success. Roberts owns a cumulative GPA of 3.94 and looks forward to completing her degree in Sociology later this spring. She finished second at the SCIAC Multi-Dual by posting the fastest 6K time in school history. As the only senior among the youthful roster, Roberts has played a huge leadership role while helping to guide the Bulldogs to a breakout season. She shared this honor with Molly Cole of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Finally, Eckerstrom was named the SCIAC's Newcomer of the Year after she posted the fastest time among the first-year competitors during the conference championships. Overall, the Redlands women enjoyed a solid conference season, which culminated in a strong second-place showing for the program's highest finish since 2007, when the Bulldogs tied for second in the final standings. As a result, Head Coach Mike Schmidt, Assistant Coach Brit March, and Assistant Coach Richard Nakaoka received the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year award.