<morrow, the women’s cross-country team will compete in the 2011 MIAC Championships. It will be an exciting meet and the Knights are prepared to run with the best.
Last Saturday, you may have come across some Indians, celestial objects, or superheroes racing through the Arb. The superheroes scored 122 points to the Thanksgiving’s and celestial objects’s 128 to take the title of 3k champs.
The runners were fast, sharpening up for tomorrow’s championships. The middle-distance runners in particular (Kaitlin Randolph ’12 and Haley Johnson ’13) rocked the race. Anna Persmark ’15 and Julia Reich ’15 also showed the rest of the team how to sprint.
Hopefully the rest of the team took those lessons to heart and will put them into action tomorrow. St. Olaf goes into the meet as the team to beat, being ranked as the top team in the region and 11th nationally. They have a strong pack consisting of such talented runners as last year’s MIAC Champion, Maren Westby, and last year’s runner-up, Emma Lee.
Additionally, St. Thomas looks strong, as always, led by last year’s fourth and tenth place finishers Taylor Berg and Erin Statz. Freshman Bailey Drewes will lead the Bennies, who also have a solid pack of runners. Gustavus Adolphus will also be a factor with a number of talented athletes.
The Knights will be in the mix, ranked third in the region and 23rd in the nation. They will be led by Simone Childs-Walker ’12, who has always placed in the top three at the conference meet. The team’s smart racing and ability to run in packs will provide the key to success at the championships.
The race will be held at Como Park in St. Paul at 2:15 PM tomorrow. The women will compete first, with the men to follow. Remember—it’s conference, and anything can happen.