Oakland University senior Kristie Kieffer (Sterling Heights, Mich.) became the first runner from OU to compete at the Division I level in an NCAA Championship on Nov. 24 at the University of Northern Iowa in Waterloo, Iowa. Kieffer covered the 6K course in a time of 21:33.4 to finish 150th in the field of 252 runners.

Kieffer’s appearance capped off a fine season as she dominated the women’s cross country times in the Mid-Continent Conference all season.

She capped off her career by setting new school records at both 5K (17:03) and 6K (21:10.70) distances and captured the Mid-Con individual title on Nov. 1. This season, she was named Mid-Con cross country athlete of the week six times and finished first in four of the nine races she competed in.

Kieffer was given an at-large bid by the NCAA Cross Country Championship Committee to compete in the NCAA meet. She was selected after her performance at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Nov. 15 where she finished 13 in a field of 214 with a 6 km season-best time of 21:10.7.

For more information on OU's cross country teams, visit the OU Athletics site.