Women's CC made good strides in 2022... best is yet to come

Tommie Women's Cross Country closed out its second Division I season -- and first under head coach Ashley Lucas -- by taking fourth place out of nine teams last Saturday at the Summit League Championships race in Grand Forks, N.D.

North Dakota State was the team champion with 38 points. South Dakota State scored 68; North Dakota tallied 100; the Tommies recorded 133; and South Dakota scored 139 to round out the top five teams.

Sophomore Molly Desotell clocked 20:28 on a course that was later estimated to be 40 seconds short of 6,000 meters. She finished in seventh place in a field of 66 runners. Desotell ran 22:05 as a freshman in 2021 on a 6K course for an 11th-place finish at the conference race in Tulsa, Okla.

Coach Ashley Lucas' squad posted the program's second top-four team finish in a row at the league meet. The Purple put their Nos. 3-7 runners all within 30 seconds of each other.

Sophomore Ava Pankratz took 24th place in 21:33; junior Christina Bolcer placed 32nd in 21:54; sophomore Lauren Ellefson placed 39th in 22:18; junior Rhynn Paulsen placed 40th in 22:19; junior Morgan Ede placed 43rd in 22:22; sophomore Gabby Witschen placed 46th in 22:24; senior Amaya Lyrek took 55th in 22:44; senior Grace Gerber placed 63rd in 23:08; and senior Caroline Johnson placed 69th in 23:22.

Bright Future

With no seniors in its top seven, the team is poised to build on the gains made this fall over five races. Lucas, who was hired in July, said her runners gained more confidence and experience as the fall progressed.

"I've always believed that the closer the relationship you have with your athletes, the more buy-in and trust there is, and thus the greater chance you will see positive results," Lucas said. "The more I got to know the runners, you could see their confidence rise, and the buy-in was immediately there. I was impressed how much we progressed throughout the season -- knock on wood, we stayed healthy, which helps to get that consistent training. You can see that progress through their performances."

The coach said Desotell and Pankratz gave her team dependable runners up front, and several other runners stuck together not far behind.

"Molly (Desotell) was our rock as far as being a consistent No. 1, always willing to just put herself in the race," Lucas explained. "She races with a lot of confidence, she knows she belongs up there near the front of the pack. She's just a competitor. On race day she doesn't care about the times but she need to be running with certain groups... she's all about 'Where am I in space throughout the race,' up with the top group.

"We had a pretty consistent No. 1 with Molly and No. 2 with Ava Pankratz, but our No. 3 through No. 7 runners were somewhat interchangeable. We need to develop that close-knit group of runners, it's always nicer to be running with your teammates. That strong pack can really elevate the team.

"The exciting thing is the top seven are all back next year. We have some freshmen who I think next year can be vying for that top group, too. We were only 33 points out of third place, that gives them something to shoot for. We know we need to close the gap between where Ava is as our No. 2. We know in the Summit League, we need at least two in the top 10 to make that next jump as a team.

"The culture is good, and it continued to improve toward the end of the season. As our runners saw results, there was more hype and more excitement. They are looking forward to what we can do in the future."

Did You Know?

The entire Summit League will return most of their top 10 next season: there were only two seniors who finished in the top 54 at Saturday's women's race. By contrast, the Summit men's CC race on Saturday there were 10 seniors or redshirt juniors wo finished in the top 35.

St. Thomas ended its 2022 season at the conference meet. Tommie runners can't compete in NCAA regional or national races as part of the five-year transition into Division I, as St. Thomas is still in year two.

Women's CC made good strides in 2022... best is yet to come

Players Mentioned

Christina Bolcer

Molly Desotell

Morgan Ede

Lauren Ellefson

Caroline Johnson

Amaya Lyrek

Ava Pankratz

Rhynn Paulsen

Gabriella Witschen

University of St. Thomas Athletics