University of St. Thomas Athletics
MIAC Championships
Statz third, Toms third in MIAC Women's CC
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Senior Erin Statz placed third and No. 24-ranked Tommie Women's Cross Country put seven runners in the top 35 in a third-place finish Saturday at the 12-team MIAC Championships at St. Paul's Como Golf Course.
Carleton (42) edged St. Olaf (58) for first place, with St. Thomas (94) holding off St. Ben's (100) for third place. All four teams are ranked in Division III's top 25.
In a field 242 finishers, Statz placed third as she clocked 22:12 for 6,000 meters (3.70 miles).
Soph Alex Fossum, running in her first conference race of her career at the high school or college level, took 18th in 23:03.
Juniors Kate Mares (23rd, 23:15) and Emily Gapinski (24th, 23:17) also had top-25 finishes for UST. Mares improved 17 spots and 51 seconds from her 2013 finish, while Gapinski improved 25 spots and 1:42 from last season.
The Toms' had two other seniors close behind, as Melissa Engstrom was 26th in 23:21. Kayla Goeman was 30th in 23:29. Engstrom improved 74 places and 1:54 from her conference showing last season.
Sophomore Bridget McGivern took 34th in a career-best time of 23:34. She improved 15 places and 48 seconds from her 2013 finish.
Six other Toms closed in the top 70:
- soph Kayla Janto was 38th in 23:46, an improvement of 1:13 and 45 places from 2013;
- junior Megan Terukina was 41st in 23:51;
- freshman Jenny Walz was 50th in 23:58;
- freshman Melissa Marsh was 57th in 24:04;
- junior Diane Hubbell was 60th in 24:12;
- junior Rachel Roth was 67th in 24:18.
UST will compete Nov. 15 in the NCAA Regional Championships in Pella, Iowa.
Players Mentioned
