Oshkosh, Wis. — Coast Guard Academy sophomore Kaitlyn Mooney seized an early lead in the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship on a chilly Saturday.

Three runners in the elite field eventually caught up to and passed Mooney, who secured fourth place for the second straight season and earned her second All-American honor. She crossed the finish line in 21 minutes, four seconds.

"I think I took it out a little too fast," Mooney said by phone on Saturday. "Maybe I should have stayed with the pack a little more. But, at the same time, I know I don't have that strong of a kick so I knew if I wanted a chance to do better then I had to go earlier."

Mooney finished just off the winning pace set by Washington University's Paige Lawler who finished the 6K race in 20:55. Otterbein's Claire Lamb was second in 20:58.7 and Annie Rodenfels from Centre placed third in 20:58.9.

"A pretty solid day," coach Greg Ahnrud said. "She went out pretty strong from the start. Her and another girl went right to the front. Then after maybe three-quarters of a mile the other girl dropped down, so Kaitlyn was leading the race through about two miles. Between two and three, a couple of other girls closed the gap and were able to get ahead of her before the finish.

"She was leading quite awhile and ran really strong."

The national championship race capped another outstanding season by Mooney.

Mooney won the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference championship for the second year in a row. She also earned the NEWMAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year award for the 2018 season. Mooney won the New England Division III Championship for the second year in a row and was also named the 2018 New England Region Athlete of the Year.

She helped lead the Bears to a third-place finish at the NEWMAC Championship and eighth at the New England Division III Championship.

Odds are Mooney will have another shot at competing for a national championship before graduating.

Saturday was another learning experience for Mooney.

"I just have to learn how to deal with running with competition," Mooney said. "That's what I would take from it."

Ahnrud added: "One of the challenges for her is that there's only a couple of meets per year she really gets pushed like this. To get that experience and learn from it is a big thing. When you're one of the top four runners in the country, there's not that many times there's going to be somebody else ready to run with you."