Flames shine in ‘incredible day’
ASHLAND, Neb. – Derek Fey calls it a two-part test his College of Saint Mary cross country team must pass in order to become a national qualifier this season.
The first part came on Saturday and the Flames passed it with flying colors.
College of Saint Mary finished seventh among 27 schools in the Blazing Tiger at Mahoney State Park, co-hosted by CSM and Doane University. Ninth-rated College of Idaho won with a score of 42.
The Flames posted a team score of 244, which was good for seventh as the top Great Plains Athletic Conference finisher. More important, they beat the teams they needed to beat.
"We needed a good performance today and we need a second-place finish at the GPAC Championships in two weeks,'' Fey said. "There were five teams receiving votes in the national poll last week. We were the last team receiving votes.
"We beat several teams ahead of us, including a couple we haven't beat all season. This was a critical race and we stepped up. That's the best finish we've had at our home meet, both by team place and by accomplishing big things."
Dakota State University placed 8th with 259, Morningside University was 10th with 275 and Doane was 12th with 357. All received more votes than CSM in the most recent national poll.
St. Ambrose University also received more votes than the Flames, and the Bees finished sixth with a score of 234, just ahead of CSM.
Leading the CSM scorers was Kara Muller, who placed 16th in 22:27.38 over the 6,000-meter course. Josie Karnik was 37th in 23:05.09, Carly Henderson was 55th in 23:28.70, Mira Fosmer took 67th in 23:44.34 and Corinne Mead placed 81st in 23:56.16.
The other Flames finishers were:
82, Kiley Craft 23:58.66; 95, Yenifer Juan Jesus 24:13.21; 131, Sarah Dickas 24:57.52; 146, Lily Ray 25:08.01; 172, Becka Karnik 25:42.90; 193, Peyton Bell 26:15.20; 199, Natalie Briggs 26:27.41; 215, Kaitlyn Thalman 26:51.62; 233, Evie Kelly 27:29.67.
The Flames finished with a flourish, giving them a sense of satisfaction after the race.
"We talked about throwing away times today,'' Fey said. "It was about moving through the field and passing as many people as possible in the second half of the race. We needed to switch gears. And we did. We were in 12th place after the first 1,000 meters, and by the end we picked off five teams.
"We set ourselves up very well. We were the top GPAC team and we ran like it. It was an incredible day."