Competing as the only Division III team in the entire field, the Colorado College women's cross country team ran to an impressive fifth-place finish Saturday morning at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open in Victoria, Kan.
With several of the nation's top Division II programs in attendance, the Tigers scored 142 points and beat five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, Nebraska Kearney, South Dakota Mines and Chadron State.
Senior
Leah Wessler paced the team for the fourth time this season by finishing 18
th with a 5K time of 17 minutes, 39.5 seconds, becoming the first Tiger to ever break the 18-minute mark in a 5K race. Freshman
Jerrica Bauer continued her impressive inaugural campaign by finishing second on the team and 32
nd overall with a time of 18:05.8.
Senior
Katie Sandfort finished 36
th with a time of 18:13.3, while sophomore
Allysa Warling and senior Stefanie Messick rounded out the scoring for the Tigers by finishing 42
nd and 43
rd, respectively.
Three other Tigers, senior
Allie Crimmins (67
th), freshman
Annabel Driussi (70
th) and sophomore
Leah Veldhuisen (71
st), finished within four seconds of each other, while senior
Emiko Smukler placed 122
nd.
Perennial Division II national contender Adams State won the meet with 54 points, followed by Western State (88), UCCS (91) and Fort Hays State (126).
The Tigers will travel to the West Coast to run in the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, Oct 15. That will be the team's final tune-up prior to the SCAC Championship Meet in Round Rock, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Team Results
1. Adams State - 54
2. Western State - 88
3. UC-Colo. Spgs. - 91
4. Fort Hays St. - 126
5. Colorado College -142
6. Pittsburg St. - 154
7. Colo. Christian - 201
8. Fort Lewis - 204
9. Oklahoma Christian - 240
10. Nebraska-Kearney - 265
11. South Dakota Mines - 289
12. Newman - 319
13. Emporia St. - 382
14. Chadron State - 386
15. Washburn - 425
Colorado College Individual Results (5k)
