Related: Atlantic Regional recap  l  NCAA results page

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University junior Allison Decker will compete in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Missouri Southern, located in Joplin, Missouri.

Decker (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) qualified for the NCAA's with a sixth-place finish at the Atlantic Regional on November 7 at Lock Haven. She led ESU's team to fourth place, one spot and 10 points from their second-ever team trip to the NCAA's and their best since finishing third in 2003.

Decker earned the region's final qualifying spot as the No. 3 individual finisher who was not a member of an advancing team (California, Edinboro, Shippensburg). Bloomsburg's Kate Dodds and West Chester's Amanda Eisman will also compete at the NCAA's individually out of the Atlantic Region.

Edinboro's Ida Narbuvoll won the regional, followed by Dodds, Cal's Julie Friend, Eisman, Ship's Casey Norton and Decker in the top six.

Decker is the ninth ESU women's runner to qualify individually for the NCAA's, combining for 14 national trips. She is the fourth in the last six seasons, joining All-America Rose Mascoli (2010), Corinne Fitzgerald (2011) and Kim Wernerspach (2013).

Decker was sixth in the regional after placing eighth in the PSAC Championships on October 24 at Slippery Rock.

Earlier this season, she won individual titles at Fordham (Sept. 12), UMass-Dartmouth (Sept. 19) and Hamilton (N.Y.) (Oct. 10).

She was third in the Paul Short Run "Brown" division at Lehigh on October 2, ESU's best-ever finish at the prestigious event.

Decker earned All-Region honors for the second straight year after placing 10th in 2014 following a runner-up finish at the PSAC Championships. She transferred to ESU from Division I Quinnipiac prior to last fall.

She will look to join Laura Mason (1982), Jan Blake (1996), Tina Vosper (1998), Vanessa Andes (2003-04) and Mascoli (2010) as All-America recipients.

All-America status will be granted to the top 40 finishers in a field of approximately 250 athletes.

Decker had a strong track and field season in 2014-15 as well, placing third in the PSAC in the 3K indoors, and fifth in the 5K and sixth in the 10K outdoors. Her indoor 3K time (10:02.11) ranks fifth in school history, and her top outdoor 10K time (36:58.51) ranks seventh.


ESU Women's Cross Country NCAA Individual Qualifiers
1982 – Laura Mason (18th, All-America)
1983 – Laura Mason (42nd)
1989 – Jenn Moyer (51st)
1990 – Jenn Moyer (35th)
1991 – Jenn Moyer (35th)
1995 – Jan Blake (81st)
1996 – Jan Blake (25th, All-America)
1998 – Tina Vosper (14th, All-America)
2003 – Vanessa Andes (5th, All-America)
2004 – Vanessa Andes (14th, All-America)
2010 – Rose Mascoli (24th, All-America)
2011 – Corinne Fitzgerald (80th)
2013 – Kim Wernerspach (74th)
2015 – Allison Decker