EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Saint Mary's cross country team placed 29th in a field which featured ten teams ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 35 in NCAA Division III women's cross country at the 2022 DIII National Preview race on Saturday.

 

No. 3 ranked University of Chicago won the event with a team score of 59. No. 7 MIT was second with 106 points, and No. 9 Wisconsin - La Crosse took third with a score of 118. Every team which placed in the top nine in the field is currently ranked in the Top 35 by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Defending Division III national champion Kassie Parker took the individual title with a 20:31.2 6k time. The Belles' 859 put them ahead of Denison by 12 points while also pushing Saint Mary's above conference opponents Alma, Adrian, and Olivet. 

 

The Belles had six team members compete in the varsity race and six team members run in the open race. 

 

In a field of more than 300 runners in the varsity race, Amanda Tracy placed 149th in a pack of four runners separated by a second-and-a-half with a time of 24:38.0. The junior was just five seconds away from matching her 6k personal record time set a year ago. Angela Bannan had a strong finish to move up 13 places from her first split time to the finish as the senior placed 204th with a 25.33.2. Alexa Zeese cut off nearly 50 seconds from her 6k time earlier this season with a 25:42.6 to place 213th.

 

Susanna Bernovich matched her 6k personal record time with a 25:45.0 at the race and finished 215th. Isabelle Auch ran a 26:01.9 and was 231st. Anna DeMars crossed the finish line with a 26:06.8 and finished 234th.

 

In the open race, Brigid Hull led the way for Saint Mary's with a time of 26:39.3 to finish 47th while nearly matching her 6k PR set earlier this season. Mikayla Trumbla ran a 26:53.4 to finish 55th while improving her 6k time from the Calvin race earlier this season by 1:24. Mary Weber was a short distance behind with a 26:58.3 in a tight finish at the line. Weber placed 57th and improved her 6k PR time by 26 seconds from earlier this fall.

 

Carly Davis turned in a time of 27:23.0 to place 63rd in the race. Julia Bobosky had an 11-second improvement upon her 6k time from earlier this fall with a 27:34.0 and placed 70th. Julia Crowley took 74th after beating out a runner from St. Lawrence by half of a second. The senior ran a 27:46.3, marking a five-second cut from her 6k time at Calvin earlier this season.

 

The Belles are back in action in two weeks at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble on October 15 in Oberlin, Ohio.