Posted: Oct 29, 2021
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Hosting the MIAA Championship races for the first time since joining the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Saint Mary's cross country team claimed sixth place in the 6k race on Friday afternoon.
The Belles had served as host of the MIAA Jamboree on five occasions (2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2012) but had not hosted the Championship races until this fall.
No. 8 nationally-ranked Hope took the team title with a score of 36. No. 13 ranked Calvin was ten points behind as the Knights finished second, and No. 27 ranked Trine was third with a team score of 85. Trine's Evie Bultemeyer captured the individual championship with a time of 21:10.1 for a 38-second victory over the next closest runner.
Haley Greene and Ava Gillis provided a strong one-two punch for the Belles on the day. Greene smashed her 6k personal record by 43 seconds with a 24:04.8 to finish 24th overall. Gillis, meanwhile, ran a 24:11.01 to place 26th.
Amanda Tracy, Riley Swope and Elizabeth Bollinger finished within 22 seconds of one another to wrap up the team score. Tracy turned in a 24:47.5 to place 37th overall. Swope ran a 25:02.4 for 39th, and Bollinger was 42nd overall in a time of 25:09.6.
Angela Bannan was the next Belle across the finish line as the junior posted a 25:28.5 for 51st place. Anna DeMars made a strong push at the end of her 6k to beat out an Alma runner by two-tenths of a second for 56th place with a time of 25:40.6. Susanna Bernovich registered a personal record time of 25:45.0 to improve upon her 6k time from earlier this year by 30 seconds. Alexa Zeese and Julia Bobosky both turned in their best 6k times of the 2021 campaign. Zeese was 66th and ran a 26:03.0 - 17 seconds faster than her time from two weeks ago at Oberlin. Bobosky, meanwhile, ran a 26:38.2 for 79th place and improved upon her time at Oberlin by a matching margin of 17 seconds.
Charley Lustig was 84th on the day with a time of 26:53.6. A strong kick down the finish chute by Brigid Conmy saw the senior beat an Olivet runner by a tenth of a second for 85th with a season-best 6k time of 26:54.1. Brigid Hull led a trio of Belles with a personal record time of 26:55.4 for a 25-second drop from her previous-best 6k time while finishing 88th. Claudia Stiglitz was 89th with a time of 27:01.9, and Abby Seaton placed 90th with a time of 27:05.0.
Anne Scheck ran a 27:29.0 for 92nd place. Julia Crowley turned in a season-best 6k time of 27:30.0 for 93rd. Emily Blank rounded out the Saint Mary's efforts on the day with a 28:11.8 for 103rd.
The Belles will now prepare for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional race, which takes place on Saturday, November 13 in Shelbyville, Indiana.