Senior Katie Barker finished 34th out of 279 runners overall to claim All-America honors, the first of her career, at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
Barker becomes the sixth Bates woman to earn All-America honors in cross country, following Rebecca Watt (1985), Kristy Gould (1993), Adelia Myrick (1999), Kathryn Moore (2007) and Barker's former teammate, Katherine Cook (2017).
"Katie started taking more risks after Pre-Nationals, and I think she figured out that she really is one of the best runners in the country," head coach Jay Hartshorn said. "Our list of All-Americans is really the best of the best, and I'm glad she is joining this group."
The women's cross country team placed 17th out of 32 teams competing at the NCAA Division III Championships, recording the second-best national finish in program history.
The Bobcats stood in 29th place halfway through the race and passed 12 teams in the second half. At the 5-kilometer mark Bates ranked 19th, and the Bobcats passed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Emory to claim 17th place.
It is the fifth time in program history Bates competed as a team at NCAAs -- previous trips netted a 19th-place team finish in both 2016 and 2012, 15th place in 1997 and 18th place in 1995.
