WINNECONNE, Wis. -- In her final collegiate cross country race, Colleen Kernan made it count as she represented the Elizabethtown College women's cross country team at the 2018 NCAA Division III XC Championships at Lake Breeze Golf Club. Kernan ended with the best finish of her career at the national meet.

Through the first split, which was a little over 2k, Kernan was sitting in 49th as she crossed the timing mat in 8:28.0. The next split, at the 3k mark, Kernan was 11:05.4 into her 6,000-meter race and now in 60th.

The third-place runner from this year's Landmark Conference meet capped off her career with a 110th-place finish in 22:37.7 out of the 279-runner field.

Washington U. in St. Louis won the women's national championship by one point over two-time defending champion, Johns Hopkins. It was the closest national championship victory since 2006.