<st Saturday, the Women’s Cross Country Team went across the river for their first race of the season. The racing conditions were perfect and the Carls took advantage of it. In addition, they also used their size to form tight packs and work as a team to take second place at the 16-team invitational.
Simone Childs-Walker ’12, dueled with St. Olaf’s Emma Lee to take second place overall in the race. She did manage to pass the Ole, but couldn’t quite get University of Minnesota Duluth’s Morgan Place.
Alison Smyth ’12 and Taylor Ffitch ’12 found a way to be successful on the same day as they worked together to take sixth and seventh respectively at the competition, yet they couldn’t have done it without Rachael Klehm ’13 navigating the crowds to take 16th overall.
Rounding out the top five was Becca Herd ’15, whose name won’t be unfamiliar for long. A healthy Rachel Kittaka ’12 followed Herd into the finish, averaging a 6:30 mile for the 3.7-mile course.
Colette Celichowski ’15, coming off an ACL injury, finished 7th for the Knights, followed by Haley Johnson ’13. Johnson was heard to say afterward, “Wow, sprinters really do have an extra gear in cross-country,” something that worked to her advantage.
Johnson’s track training partner, Kaitlin Randolph ’12, was next for the Knights, using her powerful legs to attack the last finishing hill. Carrie Harshbarger ’13 worked with Randolph throughout the course and ran a personal best time for the 6k distance. Just behind her was Ahna Weeks ’15, another one of the first-years about whom the upperclassmen are excited.
Tori Ostenso ’15 bolted through the finish line, chased by an Aly Wisekal ’14 with healthy knees. Emily Hillmer ’15 approved the nickname of “H” following her impressive debut at the 6k. Soon followed Lindsay Turchan ’15 and Lucia Childs-Walker ’15, who both took advantage of their packs and implemented solid race structure.
Veterans Shannon Mueller ’12 and Adrienne Bruder ’14 came through next, powering out of the pond loop into the finish. Clare Franco ’12 returned to the 6k distance, demonstrating the sentiments of Johnson by running the fastest last 1200 of the entire team. Her fellow 400 runner, Anna Persmark ’15, finished shortly after.
Lauren Chow ’14 had a solid return to cross-country and Julia Reich ’15 had a competitive fire in her eyes as she rounded the last turn of the course. Annie Doubleday ’14, who loves being back on a team again, followed Reich.
Kiera Wilhelm ’15 sorted out her shin troubles to conquer the course and Emily Pence ’15 edged out a Gustie at the line. Elizabeth Kimberley ’14 gave a big smile as she finished, demonstrating a love for racing, and Laura Newcombe ’13 successfully competed in her first cross-country race ever.
The Knights finished just 24 points behind the Oles, and a certain coach was overhead to say that the Knights gave her a scare. This week, the Knights will head up to the University of Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational, a course that will play into the hands of the Carls’ intelligent racers.