Colfax, Wis. – Going up against a field of 24 teams that included four of the top 25 squads in the nation according to the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III national rankings, the Gustavus Adolphus women’s cross country team held its own at the Blugold Invitational held Friday at the Whitetail Golf Course. The Gusties posted a score of 271 to finish in ninth place.
“We performed very well today,” said head coach Dale Bahr. “There is some really good competition here and anytime you have three or four teams ranked in the nation ahead of you and finish ninth, it’s a great day. It was too bad Marit couldn’t run today as I think that could have really helped our score, but Caitlin looked fabulous, especially on her birthday, and we had some others that really stepped up as well.”
Carleton College took the top spot on the podium with a score of 49, finishing with three runners inside the top 10 and St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota came in a tie for second place with a score 105.
Facing a total of 405 participants, Gustavus’s Caitlin Fermoyle (Jr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) led the team with 12th place finish. Fermoyle crossed the finish line in a season-best 22:55.6, topping her previous personal best of 23:45 set at the Central College Invitational on Sept. 6.
“I felt great today,” said Fermoyle. “It was fun to compete with other teams in the conference on a fast course. As a team, we performed very well. We were excited to race in the cold and the wind and I think our positive attitudes were reflected in the many personal bests that were set today.”
Next in line for the Gusties was Lauren Shurson (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.) who came in 14 spots behind Fermoyle in 26th with a time of 23:19.2. Rounding out Gustavus’s top five scorers were Emily Sands (So., Rochester, Minn.), Mata Agre (Jr., Medina, Minn.) and Courtney Branch (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.). Sands finished 72nd (24:17.6), Agre placed 74th (24:20.4) and Branch came in 87th (24:38.8).
“Collectively, we ran strong,” said Bahr. “I’m excited because I think there’s more in some of our women that we haven’t seen yet and I know we can continue to improve and get better. We put ourselves in a position to run well for the remainder of our season and I’m looking forward to finishing strong.”
Winning the race was Carleton’s Ruth Steinke with a time of 21:59.7. She finished in front of Tricia Serres of Luther College and Deedra Irwin of Michigan Technological University who placed second (22:09.7) and third (22:18.9), respectively.
The Gustavus cross country teams will be back on the course in two weeks when they travel to La Crosse, Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 18. The women will compete in the Tori Neubauer Invitational, while the men will compete in the Jim Drews Invitational.