STILLWATER, Okla.—Running as an individual qualifier and competing at her third straight NCAA Championships meet in cross country, junior Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) recorded a time of 21:27.4 over 6,000 meters and finished 91^st overall at the 2020 Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Monday afternoon.
 
The race at the national meet was only the second in more than a year for Olivere, who opened her junior year of competition at the BIG EAST Championships just 10 days ago after a layoff of just over a year due to the COVID pandemic interruptions. She came in third at the BIG EAST meet to earn first team all-conference honors for the third straight year and was an automatic individual qualifier for the NCAA meet.
 
Olivere was in strong form throughout the championship race Monday on the OSU Cross Country Course. She got out near the front of the initial pack of runners as they charged downhill in the first kilometer of the race. Olivere also closed strong on the steep uphill portion of the course, with official splits after the race showing that she passed 15 runners over the final kilometer to land in her eventual finishing spot.
 
Now among the veteran athletes on the Villanova roster, Olivere has consistently excelled as a versatile member of the Wildcats distance group. She was the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Athlete of the Year in cross country as a sophomore in 2019, then went on to establish personal best times on the track in the 1000 meters, the Mile, the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters during the 2020 indoor campaign. Olivere is also the school record holder in the 3000 meter steeplechase.