University of New Hampshire Athletics
Elle Purrier raced to a fifth place finish at the Pre-Nationals on Oct. 15 in Terre Haute.
Regional Champ Purrier Tackles NCAA Finals Saturday
11/17/2016 5:42:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, UNH Insider
DURHAM, N.H. – Saturday, she ran yet another impressive race and won the NCAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Championship – a first for a University of New Hampshire runner – over the historic Van Cortlandt Park course in New York City.
Tuesday, she pulled down more honors when the United States Track & Field and Country Coaches Association named her the Northeast Region Athlete of the Year.
And now Elinor Purrier, the speedy UNH junior out of Montgomery, Vt., not far from the Canadian border, is in Terre Haute, Ind., making her final preparations for the biggest cross country test of her cross country career to date.
Purrier's win in the regionals qualified her for the NCAA championships and earned her a No. 6 ranking in the country. She takes the line Saturday at 11 a.m. alongside 250 of the nation's fastest runners.
"The top group is just amazing and I'm really excited to be competing against the athletes that I am," Purrier said before heading to Indiana.
Purrier won the regionals with a time of 20 minutes, 8.7 seconds over the 6-kilometer course.
She ran just the race she and coach Robert Hoppler planned: "A "fantastic race," the coach said.
Hoppler is especially pleased with how Purrier has progressed as a cross country runner. She was 34th in the regionals as a freshman and 14th as a sophomore two years ago.
She took a redshirt season last year and did not run cross country while she continued to train. She then had outstanding seasons in indoor track (she was third in the mile at the NCAA championships) and outdoor track (third in the steeplechase at the NCAA championships).
Building off her track experience success, Purrier has made an triumphant return to cross country.
"The thing I'm happiest about is the climb she's made," Hoppler said. "Her progression says a lot about her willingness to work hard and her commitment to improve. Cross country has gone real well. Elle's been able to take a lot of her success from the track into cross country"
Now she faces another major challenge.
Purrier raced on the Terre Haute course in a Pre-National Invitational Meet on Oct. 15 and finished fifth.
She won the Coast to Coast Battle of Beanpot hosted by Boston College earlier in the season. She captured her second America East individual championship (her first was in 2014) while leading UNH to its fourth straight team title on Oct. 29.
"She's never run before in the NCAA championships and this is an opportunity to compete against the best cross country runners in the country," Hoppler said. "She got some good experience at Pre-Nats and got some good experience at regionals and got to compete against some of the top women."
Now they're all together in one race.
"She'll try to go out and put herself in a good position to compete hard," Hoppler said.
Past results don't count for much Saturday.
"Winning the conference and winning regionals and being ranked sixth doesn't mean anything when you get back to the starting line," Hoppler said. "In cross country, like in steeplechase, a lot of things can happen out there."
Purrier – the only UNH runner to ever qualify for the NCAA championship round in all three seasons, cross country, indoor and outdoor track - is ready to give it a go.
RACE INFO
Date: November, 19, 2016
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Distance: 6K
Time 11 a.m.
Tuesday, she pulled down more honors when the United States Track & Field and Country Coaches Association named her the Northeast Region Athlete of the Year.
And now Elinor Purrier, the speedy UNH junior out of Montgomery, Vt., not far from the Canadian border, is in Terre Haute, Ind., making her final preparations for the biggest cross country test of her cross country career to date.
Purrier's win in the regionals qualified her for the NCAA championships and earned her a No. 6 ranking in the country. She takes the line Saturday at 11 a.m. alongside 250 of the nation's fastest runners.
"The top group is just amazing and I'm really excited to be competing against the athletes that I am," Purrier said before heading to Indiana.
Purrier won the regionals with a time of 20 minutes, 8.7 seconds over the 6-kilometer course.
She ran just the race she and coach Robert Hoppler planned: "A "fantastic race," the coach said.
Hoppler is especially pleased with how Purrier has progressed as a cross country runner. She was 34th in the regionals as a freshman and 14th as a sophomore two years ago.
She took a redshirt season last year and did not run cross country while she continued to train. She then had outstanding seasons in indoor track (she was third in the mile at the NCAA championships) and outdoor track (third in the steeplechase at the NCAA championships).
Building off her track experience success, Purrier has made an triumphant return to cross country.
"The thing I'm happiest about is the climb she's made," Hoppler said. "Her progression says a lot about her willingness to work hard and her commitment to improve. Cross country has gone real well. Elle's been able to take a lot of her success from the track into cross country"
Now she faces another major challenge.
Purrier raced on the Terre Haute course in a Pre-National Invitational Meet on Oct. 15 and finished fifth.
She won the Coast to Coast Battle of Beanpot hosted by Boston College earlier in the season. She captured her second America East individual championship (her first was in 2014) while leading UNH to its fourth straight team title on Oct. 29.
"She's never run before in the NCAA championships and this is an opportunity to compete against the best cross country runners in the country," Hoppler said. "She got some good experience at Pre-Nats and got some good experience at regionals and got to compete against some of the top women."
Now they're all together in one race.
"She'll try to go out and put herself in a good position to compete hard," Hoppler said.
Past results don't count for much Saturday.
"Winning the conference and winning regionals and being ranked sixth doesn't mean anything when you get back to the starting line," Hoppler said. "In cross country, like in steeplechase, a lot of things can happen out there."
Purrier – the only UNH runner to ever qualify for the NCAA championship round in all three seasons, cross country, indoor and outdoor track - is ready to give it a go.
RACE INFO
Date: November, 19, 2016
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Distance: 6K
Time 11 a.m.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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