LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Sophomore Isabel Wharton and senior Kayla Ewert competed in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championship today at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas. The pair represented Indiana Wesleyan University as individuals.

Wharton earned 83rd place overall in a time of 19:05 on the 5,000-meter course. Ewert was close behind in 107th place as she crossed the line in 19:14. There were a total of 319 runners in the field which consisted of 32 teams and 103 individuals.

“They both ran fantastic races and I was very proud of both girls,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach John Foss. “From the beginning to the end they were right in the thick of things. It was a cold and windy day but nice for running on a beautiful course.”

The national championship was contested on the Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas. The course has been the site of NCAA Division I and Division II National Championships, Big Eight Championships, Big 12 Championships, and high school state championships.

British Columbia won the NAIA national championship with 56 points while College of Idaho was runner-up at 97 points. The individual national champion was Hillary Holt of College of Idaho as she won with a time of 16:48.

“Taylor finished 10th today and we were a minute 36 seconds behind them at the league meet,” Foss said. “If we were here and were 1:36 behind them today we would have finished 15th. That gives us a lot of confidence going into next year that we are one of the top team and can really go after it.”

The NAIA also released the list of 2013 NAIA Daktronics Women’s Cross Country Scholar-Athletes. Nine Wildcats made the list while Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) had the most with 11. Ewert was joined by Alyssa Foss, Jordan Hofer, Courtney Jensen, Adrienne Lawson, Avery Malmgren, Allison Musselman, Christina Sandberg, and Amanda Wolfe.

To be eligible for the award the student-athlete must be a junior or senior with at least a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.