NEW ORLEANS—The women's cross country trio of sophomore Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.), freshman Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) and fifth-year senior Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.) were named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic All-Region Team in an announcement made by the organization on Monday afternoon.  This is the fifth straight year and 12^th time in the last 13 seasons that Villanova has had at least three all-region performers.
 
Olivere was the individual champion at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional last Friday morning while Smith and Campbell finished third and fourth, respectively.  Their performances match the 2013 team as the only other year in which the Wildcats had three of the top four finishers at the regional meet.  The current format of NCAA regional competition began with the 2000 season.  Each of the top 25 individual finishers at nine regional meets around the country achieve all-region status. 
 
After placing ninth overall and fourth in the Villanova lineup at the Mid-Atlantic Regional as a freshman last season, Olivere surged to the individual title as a sophomore this year.  She covered the 6,000 meter course at Lehigh in a personal best time of 20:02.0 and crossed the finish line with a margin of victory of just over 10 seconds.  This is the third straight season and the 10^th time in the last 14 years that a Wildcats runner has been the Mid-Atlantic individual champion.  Olivere is also the sixth Villanova athlete to win BIG EAST and Mid-Atlantic Region titles in the same year.
 
Smith and Campbell each garnered all-region accolades for the first time in their careers.  One of several freshmen who have made consistent contributions to the team all season, Smith recorded a time of 20:15.8 to finish third at regionals.  She has been in the top three of the Wildcats lineup at all five of the team's meets on the year.  Campbell moved up 30 spots from where she finished at last year's regional meet and came in fourth with a time of 20:21.3, in the process setting a new personal best for a 6K cross country course.  Like Smith, she has also finished in the top three of the Villanova lineup in all five races this season.
 
The three all-region selections give the Wildcats a total of 81 honorees all-time.  Villanova finished second in the team standings at the Mid-Atlantic Regional to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships later this week.  It is the fifth straight year that the Wildcats will appear as a team at the national meet.  Also on Monday, Villanova leaped six spots in the latest USTFCCCA national rankings to No. 22.  It is the team's highest poll position of the season.