Ettrick, Wis. – Going up against a 30-team field that featured 453 runners, the Gustavus Adolphus women’s cross country team finished 10th overall with a score of 318 at the 2014 Tori Neubauer Invitational held at the Ettrick Golf Club on Saturday morning.
The Gusties were led by the efforts of Caitlin Fermoyle (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Lauren Shurson (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.), who were the only Gustie runners to place in the top 50. Fermoyle came in 19th after crossing the finish line in 22:53. Shurson came across the line in 23:12 to finish 35th. Marit Sonnesyn returned to the course for the Gusties on Saturday after missing the team’s last race due to injury. Sonnesyn finished in 80th place after running a 24:04.
“Caitlin had another great race today,” said head coach Dale Bahr. “She is definitely going to be one of the top runners in the conference and it’ll be fun to see what she’s able to do as the conference meet gets closer. Marit is still a bit shaky and actually is still running injured, but she ran strong today and we know that we’re a completely different team without her.”
“We also have a great freshman class that is inexperienced but really coming into their own,” said Bahr. “As a whole, we’re looking confident…we know we haven’t run our best, but everyone is working hard to get to where we want to be and that makes me very proud as a coach.”
Winning the race was host UW-La Crosse with a score of 61. Winona State University was the runner-up with a score of 115 and the College of Saint Benedict came in third with a 175.
The top individual runner on Saturday morning was Viola Kebenei of Iowa Central who completed the 6k course in 21:31. UW-La Crosse’s Laura Mead placed second with a time of 21:36 and UW-Plateville’s Danielle Kunkel finished third in 21:37.
Today’s meet served as Gustavus’s final competition before the MIAC Championships that will be held in two weeks. The 2014 MIAC Championships will take place on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul.