ELSAH, Ill. — Ohio Northern senior Emily Richards (Delaware/Hayes) earned All-America honors with a ninth place finish at the 2017 NCAA III Women's Cross Country Championships on a cold, wet and windy afternoon at the North Farm Cross Country Course.

Richards finished the 6,000-meter course in 21:02, good for ninth place in the 279-women field.

The top 40 runners earn All-America honors.

Her 21:02 time broke her personal best time by a full 45 seconds and was just two seconds off the school record of 21:00 by Alison (Steinbrunner) Kwiat in 2012.

Richards' ninth place finish ties her with Kwiat for the second-best finish by a Polar Bear at the NCAA III Women's championships.

Kwiat was second in 2012 and ninth in 2011.

"Emily ran a great race," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "She was strong at the front of the field the entire race. This is just another impressive accomplishment in her career at Ohio Northern."

"I felt great," Richards said. "It was windy and cold, but we are used to running in that type of weather at ONU. My goal was to finish in the top 10 or 15 and run well, so this was a good day."

The Polar Bears finished the 2017 season with a 94-37 record, finished fourth at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships and were ninth at the Great Lakes Regional Championships under 9th-year head coach Jason Maus.