<ne its light, parents came to a pasta party, and the women’s cross-country team invited some friends to the Upper Arb for the Running of the Cows, a friendly competition on Saturday against Saint Benedict and Concordia. The cows marked the starting line, one representing the spirit of Dave Ricks, as the meet really missed his announcing, but made do without.
Honorable guest Andrew Rock took the starter’s pistol and the runners were off. The race took awhile to spread out, but the course worked its magic and created some space. Simone Childs-Walker ’12 took the opportunity to run with her teammates and helped them along before cruising to the victory. Taylor Ffitch ‘12 followed her. It was Ffitch’s best race of the season so far, indicating that good things are to come. Alison Smyth ’12 glued her eyes to the blonde ponytail ahead of her and crossed the line five seconds behind Ffitch.
As Smyth ran, she heard cheers for an Emily, an unusual circumstance. Emily Fritz-Endres ’11 ran the second fastest time of her career in racing to a sixth place finish. Kaitlin Randolph ’12 charged across the line in 14th. (A notable alum will tell you that it doesn’t get better than that. It’s a sign.)
Four seconds later Rachel Kittaka ’12 crossed the line. Kittaka’s performance earned her a Malian skirt. Five seconds after Kittaka, the other Rachael, Klehm ’13, completed the 6k., followed by a large pack of Carls. Lauren Chow ’14, Julie Besenbruch ’13, and Milana Socha ’14 finished together, earning themselves T-shirts. Just one look at Besenbruch after the race showed her excitement over her finish.
Following the example of those before them, Brooke McManigal ’14, Adrienne Bruder ’14, and Aly Wisekal ’14 finished together, indicating that Bruder did indeed meet her goal of working with her training group. Haley Johnson ’13 came through the chute next, giving herself enough space to not have to worry about crashing into anyone. It’s a problem when you sprint through the finish, especially when you’re an 800 runner like Johnson.
Carrie Harshbarger ’13 came next, staying under 26 to break into the top 40. Sarah Trautman ’13 was the next Carl, ensuring the victory over one of Smyth’s high school buddies. Maddie Halloran ’14 finished next, staying under 28 on a fairly difficult course.
These fantastically strong women powered to a first place finish over the letter “K.” They then proceeded to each lunch with said letter. This was a great way for the Lady Fellahs to end the regular season, as their next competition will be an intrasquad meet this Saturday, meaning the team will not be united in their quest to run the fastest 3k that traverses the Upper Lower and Lower Lower Arb. One week later, the team will head to Como Park in St. Paul to defend their conference championship.
-Alison Smyth is a member of the women’s cross country team.
