The Gustavus women’s cross country and golf teams made a splash at their respective conference championships in the month of October and a pair of individuals were instrumental to those successes – junior cross country runner Kate Eggers and first-year golfer Sam Falk. For their positive contributions to their respective teams, the Office of Sports Information has named Eggers and Falk Female Co-Student-Athletes of the Month for October.
Kate Eggers – October Female Co-Student-Athlete of the Month – Junior, Cross Country
Eggers has been the women’s cross country team’s front-runner for two of its three October meets, placing seventh in 23:34 at the Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly, Iowa on Oct. 8 and ninth in 22:50 at the MIAC Championships in St. Paul, Minn. last Saturday. Her ninth-place finish at the conference meet paced the Gusties to a third-place team finish, their best result at the MIAC Championships since 2004.
“One of the things that really stands out this year is the fact that Kate was injured for over half the season,” Head coach Dale Bahr mentioned. “But she talks to the coaches about her injury and doesn’t complain to the team about being injured. She’s there everyday, she’s working her butt off, she’s pressing hard during workouts; but when it comes to meets, she’s learned how to step it up.”
The Montevideo, Minn. native’s injury appears to becoming less and less of an issue as the NCAA Division III Central Region Meet approaches. Eggers posted identical times of 23:34 at the Dan Huston Invite and Tori Neubauer Invitational on Oct. 15, and ran her quickest 6K race of the 2011 season in 22:50 at the conference meet last Saturday. Coach Bahr feels that with a couple weeks of preparation, Eggers has the ability to surprise some people at the regional meet.
“Two more weeks of training and I think she can beat some of the girls that beat her at conference,” Bahr stated. “I’d say realistically, she’s looking at All-Region and possibly the top-twenty.”
Eggers and the rest of the women’s cross country team will travel to Waverly, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 12 for the Central Region meet.
Sam Falk – October Female Co-Student-Athlete of the Month – First-year, Golf
Although the women’s golf team only had one meet in the month of October, Falk made her performance at the MIAC Championships worthy of Student-Athlete of the Month honors. The Glenwood, Minn. native placed third at the conference meet with a 232 (+16), the second best 54-hole total ever recorded in the history of the Gustavus women’s golf program. Adding to the record books, her finish was also the highest by a first-year in the history of the program.
“Sam had a great fall for us as a first year player,” Head coach Scott Moe said. “She stepped into the lineup at the start of our second week and never looked back. She is a fierce competitor and I truly believe that is spreading to our other players, making our team better. She has the ability to compete for the podium every time she tees it up and that is pretty special for a first year player. She has worked very hard to get her game to this level and I do not see her stop trying to get better.”
Falk progressively improved throughout the season, garnering a better finish in each of the five meets she participated in. The Minnewaska High School product posted a 20th-place finish at the first meet of the year and jumped to 11th, ninth, seventh and third over the next four meets, respectively.