The women’s Cross Country team has competed in three meets so far this season, and has been taking great strides towards reaching their goals this season. On Sept. 8, the women placed second out of five teams at the St. John’s Invitational with a total of 57 points. The leading team, Saint Benedict finished with a total of 44 points. Sophomore Caitlin Fermoyle placed first, while Junior Rebecca Hare placed fourth and Senior Beth Hauer finished in 11th place.
Their latest meet was on Sept. 15 at St. Olaf. The women placed sixth out of 24 teams at the invitational. The women finished with a total of 165 points. St. Olaf completed the meet with 55 points, Minnesota State University, Mankato with 92 points, Carleton with 94 points, Minnesota-Duluth with 107 points and St. Thomas with 147 points. Fermoyle finished first for the Gusties and placed 14th in the meet. Hare finished in 24th place, followed by Senior Captain Kate Eggers who placed 36th.
On Sept. 28 the women will be competing in the St. Thomas/Crown College Invitational. The Cross Country team will then travel to La Crosse, Wisconsin to take part in the Jim Drews Invite on Oct. 13, 2012. The following meet will take place in St. Paul, where the women will be racing in the MIAC Championships on Oct. 27 at the Como Golf Course. The women’s JV team will then be competing in Collegeville, Minnesota on Nov. 3, 2012. NCAA Regional Championships will take place in Northfield, Minnesota on Nov. 10.
According to Coach Dale Bahr, these women have been putting forth great effort to achieve their goal of a top three finish in the Conference this year.
“Our biggest competition in the conference is from St. Olaf and St. Thomas. Others in the region are Luther and Wartburg. We have a very tough conference and region,” Senior Captain Meredith Bache-Wiig said.
According to Bahr, there is a lot of depth on the team this year. The women have been practicing hard, some even averaging about 65 miles a week. The athletes alternate between threshold and intensity workouts and recovery days in preparation for their competitions.
“This is not a club. We are here to work hard,” Bahr said.
With both captains putting in their miles and leading the team towards their highest potential, the women have been running strong.
“We’re definitely a competitive team this year and hungry for success,” Eggers said.
The women’s team has ten new athletes this year, and according to Bahr, the first-years are looking very encouraging. With a great variety of runners, the women have become a very close unit.
“I’m really impressed with the way the team has developed such a unique bond,” Bahr said.
This fall has been inspirational, in a sense, for these athletes. More focus is being put forward than ever, and each athlete is working hard to pull themselves forward in their competitions. According to Fermoyle, the women have been working on doing all of the little things as well in order to become more competitive. Not only is time being taken to run, but the team also has been focusing on strength training and doing all that they can to stay healthy.
Long hours and positive attitudes among these women has been an important contribution towards the team’s successes so far.
“We’ve had a lot of individual PR’s [personal records] so far this season. The women really did their homework over the summer so we’ve seen a ton of improvements,” Eggers said.
The support and hard work put in at practices and competitions have influenced the athletes to become closer to one another. Together they have been working to become better runners as well as a better team.
“I think the team has bonded really well and that’s also helpful in racing together,” Bache-Wiig says.