Freshman Jenn Randall punched her ticket to nationals immediately following the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships as she picked up a sixth-place overall finish. But the rest of the women’s cross country team would have to wait 24 hours to know if they would be joining her for a road trip to Ohio this weekend.

Word filtered down from Head Women’s Track Coach Jennifer Potter, who had inside knowledge as a member of the NCAA regional board. She relayed the message to Assistant Coach Erin Dinan who called each member of the team to let her know the Bombers were selected as an at-large entry and would be competing at the NCAA Division III National Championships.

This makes 10 straight years of nationals appearances for the Bombers, establishing a new record for consecutive entrances. Head Coach Bill Ware said the talent his incoming teams have brought with them to Ithaca College has helped prepare them for the postseason.

“You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken poo,” Ware said.

Having accomplished the goal they had been focusing on, the Bombers will need to refocus and regroup to bring the same intensity to nationals as they did to regionals.

Senior Amanda Boccio said the nerves she had leading up to the race gradually increased as the final week of training went on. She said the team didn’t talk about the race much in the beginning of the week, but on the eve of the race, she felt the gravity of the moment.

“It’s a little nerve-racking,” she said. “Especially for the seniors.”

Randall did what has become expected of her, as she performed much like she did in her first race at SUNY-Oswego when she placed first overall at the meet to lead the Bombers to a first-place finish.

Randall said she felt nervous standing on the starting line because, instead of seven teams on the line, this time there were 33, and a trip to nationals was at stake. Once the race started, Randall said she relaxed and even smiled when she passed the Bombers’ cheering contingency at the one-mile mark.

“I felt more comfortable once the race started and I got into my rhythm,” Randall said.

Randall passed four runners from her initial position of 10th to finish sixth in the race. She was the top freshman and top Bomber in the race.

The entire team moved up in place as the race went on, and none more so than sophomore Heidi Baumbach. Baumbach was in 60th place at the one-mile mark, but her strategy of relaxing at the beginning paid big dividends as she cut her place almost in half during the remainder of the six-kilometer race to finish 34th overall and third on the team for her best finish all season.

Baumbach said her solid performance was because of the week of training leading up to the race.

“I really tried to focus throughout the week,” she said.

From the start of preseason, Ware said the Bombers have focused almost exclusively on qualifying for the national championships and establishing a new standard for consecutive trips to nationals in program history.

Last year the team underperformed at nationals, ranking 25th entering the race and finishing 29th. However, Ware said this year having three seniors potentially in the top five will prevent a letdown. The Bombers head into nationals again ranked 25th in the country, and Boccio said performing up to that ranking or better will be their goal.