The University of Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, November 18
Charlottesville, Va.
9:20 AM
Ole Miss
vs
NCAA Championships
Helmers Sets Program Record, Leads Ole Miss Women at NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/18/2023 | Cross Country
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Ole Miss women's cross country senior Ryann Helmers made history in a leading effort for the Rebels, concluding the season at the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships held at Virginia's Panorama Farms on Saturday morning.
The Rebel women entered ranked No. 23 in the final USTFCCCA poll and broke the formchart with their performance Saturday, finishing 21st overall at 459 points – ahead of higher-ranked schools like No. 18 Wisconsin (22nd, 487), No. 22 Utah Valley (23rd, 501) and No. 13 Furman (24th, 503). That 21st place NCAA finish ranks tied for the third-best in Ole Miss women's history, and it marks the seventh top-25 national finish for the Rebel women all-time in just seven total opportunities as a team.
"(This team) capped off the year finishing 21st in the country, and with the majority of them having the best cross country seasons of their career," said Ole Miss cross country coach Adam Smith. "I'm very proud of them, and excited to go into indoors and outdoors with some excellent momentum."
Leading the way for Ole Miss was senior Ryann Helmers, who put together the best national finish in women's program history. Helmers finished 23rd overall at a 6K time of 19:54.3, making her just the second Rebel woman to earn All-America during the cross country season, joining Sintayehu Vissa's 33rd-place All-American finish from 2021.
This caps a great cross country career for Helmers, who transferred to Ole Miss from Rice prior to the 2020 season. Overall, Helmers ends with an All-American honor, four trips to NCAAs, three NCAA All-South Region honors, two Second-Team All-SEC honors, and five of the 14 known sub-20 6K times in Ole Miss women's history – the most by any Rebel.
"There's been so many ups and downs through the years and being able to come back to the place where it all started and leave on such a high note for my last collegiate cross race means more than words could ever describe," Helmers said.
Joining Helmers on Saturday was the remainder of the Rebel women's contingent that put together a strong season overall in 2023. Senior Loral Winn was Ole Miss' next best finisher in 115th place at 20:46.4, and was followed by senior Skylar Boogerd (126th, 20:51.2), junior Hannah Ielfield (145th, 20:58.3), sophomore Sarah Schiffmann (174th, 21:14.1), junior Madison Hulsey (237th, 22:16.8) and senior Kristel van den Berg (245th, 22:56.4).
Ole Miss was also represented in the men's race at NCAAs for the 10th consecutive season, as senior Cruz Gomez concluded his season as an individual qualifier. Gomez finished 66th at a 10K time of 30:11.1, capping off the year on a positive note after missing time due to injury earlier this season.
"Cruz Gomez had a very nice day today," Smith said. "He moved up throughout the whole race for his best-ever finish at NCAAs, and he really came alive in general this postseason. Cruz will be vital to our program on the track next season, and looking forward to him making several appearances at NCAA meets in the future."
With cross country now in the rearview, the focus turns to the 2024 indoor track & field season, which is slated to begin for the Rebels this coming January.
Men's 10K Individual Results
66. Cruz Gomez – 30:11.1
Women's 6K Individual Results
23. Ryann Helmers – 19:54.3 – All-American
115. Loral Winn – 20:46.4
126. Skylar Boogerd – 20:51.2
145. Hannah Ielfield – 20:58.3
174. Sarah Schiffmann – 21:14.1
237. Madison Hulsey – 22:16.8
245. Kristel van den Berg – 22:56.4
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #2 NC State – 123
2. #1 Northern Arizona – 124
3. #4 Oklahoma State – 156
4. #7 Notre Dame – 237
5. #8 Florida – 268
6. #11 Tennessee – 294
7. #20 Alabama – 314
8. #10 Washington – 323
9. #12 Arkansas – 329
10. #9 Oregon – 335
11. #25 Lipscomb – 353
12. #5 Stanford – 357
13. #14 Utah – 375
14. #3 BYU – 399
15. #15 Virginia – 400
16. #19 Michigan State – 410
17. #21 Cal Baptist – 414
18. #6 Georgetown – 419
19. #17 Colorado – 446
20. #16 Iowa State – 458
21. #23 Ole Miss – 459
22. #18 Wisconsin – 487
23. #22 Utah Valley – 501
24. #13 Furman – 503
25. #29 Harvard – 504
26. #26 Boston College – 567
27. #24 Syracuse – 591
28. #27 Providence – 619
29. #28 Colorado State – 720
30. Texas A&M – 775
31. #30 Penn State – 787
The Rebel women entered ranked No. 23 in the final USTFCCCA poll and broke the formchart with their performance Saturday, finishing 21st overall at 459 points – ahead of higher-ranked schools like No. 18 Wisconsin (22nd, 487), No. 22 Utah Valley (23rd, 501) and No. 13 Furman (24th, 503). That 21st place NCAA finish ranks tied for the third-best in Ole Miss women's history, and it marks the seventh top-25 national finish for the Rebel women all-time in just seven total opportunities as a team.
"(This team) capped off the year finishing 21st in the country, and with the majority of them having the best cross country seasons of their career," said Ole Miss cross country coach Adam Smith. "I'm very proud of them, and excited to go into indoors and outdoors with some excellent momentum."
Leading the way for Ole Miss was senior Ryann Helmers, who put together the best national finish in women's program history. Helmers finished 23rd overall at a 6K time of 19:54.3, making her just the second Rebel woman to earn All-America during the cross country season, joining Sintayehu Vissa's 33rd-place All-American finish from 2021.
This caps a great cross country career for Helmers, who transferred to Ole Miss from Rice prior to the 2020 season. Overall, Helmers ends with an All-American honor, four trips to NCAAs, three NCAA All-South Region honors, two Second-Team All-SEC honors, and five of the 14 known sub-20 6K times in Ole Miss women's history – the most by any Rebel.
"There's been so many ups and downs through the years and being able to come back to the place where it all started and leave on such a high note for my last collegiate cross race means more than words could ever describe," Helmers said.
Joining Helmers on Saturday was the remainder of the Rebel women's contingent that put together a strong season overall in 2023. Senior Loral Winn was Ole Miss' next best finisher in 115th place at 20:46.4, and was followed by senior Skylar Boogerd (126th, 20:51.2), junior Hannah Ielfield (145th, 20:58.3), sophomore Sarah Schiffmann (174th, 21:14.1), junior Madison Hulsey (237th, 22:16.8) and senior Kristel van den Berg (245th, 22:56.4).
Ole Miss was also represented in the men's race at NCAAs for the 10th consecutive season, as senior Cruz Gomez concluded his season as an individual qualifier. Gomez finished 66th at a 10K time of 30:11.1, capping off the year on a positive note after missing time due to injury earlier this season.
"Cruz Gomez had a very nice day today," Smith said. "He moved up throughout the whole race for his best-ever finish at NCAAs, and he really came alive in general this postseason. Cruz will be vital to our program on the track next season, and looking forward to him making several appearances at NCAA meets in the future."
With cross country now in the rearview, the focus turns to the 2024 indoor track & field season, which is slated to begin for the Rebels this coming January.
Men's 10K Individual Results
66. Cruz Gomez – 30:11.1
Women's 6K Individual Results
23. Ryann Helmers – 19:54.3 – All-American
115. Loral Winn – 20:46.4
126. Skylar Boogerd – 20:51.2
145. Hannah Ielfield – 20:58.3
174. Sarah Schiffmann – 21:14.1
237. Madison Hulsey – 22:16.8
245. Kristel van den Berg – 22:56.4
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #2 NC State – 123
2. #1 Northern Arizona – 124
3. #4 Oklahoma State – 156
4. #7 Notre Dame – 237
5. #8 Florida – 268
6. #11 Tennessee – 294
7. #20 Alabama – 314
8. #10 Washington – 323
9. #12 Arkansas – 329
10. #9 Oregon – 335
11. #25 Lipscomb – 353
12. #5 Stanford – 357
13. #14 Utah – 375
14. #3 BYU – 399
15. #15 Virginia – 400
16. #19 Michigan State – 410
17. #21 Cal Baptist – 414
18. #6 Georgetown – 419
19. #17 Colorado – 446
20. #16 Iowa State – 458
21. #23 Ole Miss – 459
22. #18 Wisconsin – 487
23. #22 Utah Valley – 501
24. #13 Furman – 503
25. #29 Harvard – 504
26. #26 Boston College – 567
27. #24 Syracuse – 591
28. #27 Providence – 619
29. #28 Colorado State – 720
30. Texas A&M – 775
31. #30 Penn State – 787
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
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