ITHACA, N.Y.— The 2019 NCAA Northeast Regionals proved to be one of the more telling races for the Big Red women. Not only was the race moved to asphalt due to unsafe ground conditions at Audubon Golf Course in Amherst, N.Y., but Cornell's 2019 squad proved to be a team worthy— and capable— of a spot at the national meet.

Coming off a 6^th place finish at Heps, Cornell turned things around for the regional meet. There, the team ran away with a second-place finish, coming in just behind Harvard, to earn the program's ninth trip to the National Championship, coming as the first since 2013 and the first automatic bid since 1998.

Cornell's ability to run as a cohesive unit proved to be the key to its regional runner-up status. Finishing 14, 16, 27, 28, 41, 56 and 62, the Big Red put together a full team effort on their way to its second-place finish in non-ideal conditions. Going on to finish 29^th in the country in 2019, the Big Red are geared for more success in 2021.

Getting There
The Big Red men and women will follow an identical schedule for the 2021 season. Saturday starts things off with the Yellowjacket Invitational in Rochester, N.Y.. October opens with what's been a staple in the Big Red's schedule, the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh on Oct. 1. A premier meet that annually welcomes some of the nation's top talent, Cornell finished 10^th out of 41 teams at 2019's race. Two weeks after Paul Short, the Big Red will once again toe the line with the nation's best at the FSU Invite/Pre-Nationals meet in Tallahassee on Oct. 15. During the same weekend, those runners outside Cornell's top seven will travel to the Penn State Invitational before the Big Red's lone home meet of the season, the Reif Memorial, on Oct. 22 at the Moakley Course in Ithaca. A week later the team takes on its Ivy League foes at the Heptagonal Championship in Princeton, N.J. where the team looks to improve on a 6^th place finish from 2019. Finally, the team will line up at Boston's Franklin Park for the 2021 NCAA Northeast Regionals on Friday, Nov. 12 ready to race to another national championship berth.

The Team
The Big Red will be looking to new faces to lead the team back to a national championship race as only two Cornellians, junior Katy Storti senior Natalie Morris return of those who competed at regionals or nationals in 2019. Returning letterwinners for the Big Red are Isa Meyers, Lucy Hurt, Rachel Green, Morris and Storti. 

"Our three captains [Lucy Hurt, Isa Meyers and Rachel Green] have been phenomenal leaders and we've also gotten the chance to watch them grow and develop as runners. Those three are going to be a lot of fun to watch this year," said The Alan B. '53 and Elizabeth Heekin Harris Head Coach of Women's Track & Field/Men's and Women's Cross Country, Mike Henderson.

The Coaches
Henderson enters his third season at the helm of both Big Red cross country programs after serving as an assistant for two seasons prior. Working alongside Henderson are assistant coach Megan Knoblock and volunteer assistant coach Sophia Ziemian.

Up Next 
The long-awaited 2021 season starts Saturday at the Yellowjacket Invitational in Rochester, N.Y.

Meet Information
Cornell at Yellowjacket Invitational | Saturday, Sept. 18, 11 a.m.
SITE: Genesee Valley Park – Rochester, N.Y.
RESULTS: LeoneTiming.com