<ite a heart-wrenching separation, the women’s cross-country team ran solid races this weekend. They were coming off the two hardest training weeks in the season, as well as midterms, and they still showed their stuff.
Half the team went to Osh Kosh to see the nationals course and some of the top teams in the country while the other half went to La Crosse to battle conference and region foes.
The Osh Kosh squad placed tenth out of 43 teams, beating the 19th-ranked NYU while the La Crosse team took 16th of 23, beating conference rivals Augsburg and St. Mary’s.
At Osh Kosh, Simone Childs-Walker ’12 led the way into the 30 mph winds, running with the front pack and taking fifth place overall in a stacked field.
The next Knights were busy battling the Oles, with Rachael Klehm ’13 running an outstanding race to take 25th, less than five seconds behind the Oles’ first runner.
She was followed by Taylor ffitch ’12 who was just edged by an Ole. Becca Herd ’15 experienced her first race in a field of that depth, running a solid fourth for the Knights. Rachel Kittaka ’12 edged a conference foe from Bethel as the Knights’ fifth, just missing going under the 24-minute mark.
She was closely followed by Kaitlin Randolph ’12, who excelled in the windy conditions. Maybe it was the day for middle distance runners, as Haley Johnson ’13 ran a mere four seconds slower than she did on the fast Eau Claire course.
Carrie Harshbarger ’13 and Colette Celichowski ’15 rounded out the Knights’ squad, taking advantage of the pre-nationals experience.
The rest of the squad competed at La Crosse, showing off the team’s depth. Now, I don’t know who led the way, but Lindsay Turchan ’15 finished ahead. She ran 15 seconds faster than she did at Eau Claire on a day when most people ran slower. She was followed closely by Aly Wisekal ’14, who also ran faster than she did at Eau Claire.
The duo of Tori Ostenso ’15 and Emily Hillmer ’15 was next, reportedly stride-for-stride the entire 6k. Always smiling, the smiles seemed particularly abundant in the ice bath following the competition.
Shannon Mueller ’12 was the Knights’ fifth, running her best race of the season by far. She implemented solid race structure and you can bet will be looking to get the Ostenso/Hillmer duo in the next competition.
Ahna Weeks ’15 was the Knights’ sixth and Aurora Janes ’15 was the seventh. Watch for Janes—she ran 18 seconds faster than she did at Eau Claire and is really just getting into shape now.
Adrienne Bruder ’14 was next for the team, running 19 seconds faster than she did at Eau Claire. Milana Socha ’14 came next, followed by Lauren Chow ’14.
Julia Reich ’15 powered through the course, whacking a ridiculous 34 seconds off her time. Annie Doubleday ’14 and Elizabeth Kimberley ’14 continued to reel people in and run excellent races.
This was the Knights’ last 6k competition before the conference championships on Oct. 29th. Time to rest up and taper before taking on the Oles, Tommies, Bennies, Gusties, and whatever other “-ies” decide to come.