University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, September 6
Green Bay, Wis. / Phoenix Alumni Course
4:00 p.m. Central
vs
Phoenix Open
Photo by: Patrick Hart
Duo takes top 10 for St. Thomas at Phoenix Open Friday
9/6/2024 8:20:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Ava Pankratz led Tommie Women’s Cross Country with sixth place finish
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The senior duo of Ava Pankratz and Molly Desotell recorded top 10 finishes Friday afternoon during the St. Thomas cross country season opener at the Phoenix Open in Green Bay, Wis.
Pankratz led the Tommie pack with a sixth-place finish of 22:25.1 on the 6,000-meter course while Desotell placed 10th in 22:37.3. The Purple's top five, point-scoring runners included sophomore Elsie Kmecak who set a personal record of 22:57.6 to finish 16th overall and the freshmen duo of Sophie Yetter (23:12.2) in 22nd and Olivia Pauly (23:15.2) in 23rd.
As a team the Tommies placed third among 10 teams, tallying 77 total points. Winona State took the team win with 39 points, including two of the top three finishers, followed by Purdue Fort Wayne with 66 points.
UP NEXT
Following the season-opening 6K, the Tommies return to the course Sept. 20 at the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas:
"Today was a great start for the team. I instructed them to stick with their groups for the first 3K, stay controlled, and then push harder in the second half of the race, and for the most part, they executed that well. The team has been connecting really well, and I'm excited to see how we progress this season. I believe you'll see a team that's interchangeable, with different top performers in each race, which is what makes a strong team.
"It's always exciting to have so many athletes representing the Tommies for the first time. We know what we need to work on to keep improving and have some key pieces to add back as we move through the season. Now it's time to get back to work as we prepare for Griak and being back at home."
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Cross Country, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's and Women's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @tommiemtfxc and @tommiewxctf
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Pankratz led the Tommie pack with a sixth-place finish of 22:25.1 on the 6,000-meter course while Desotell placed 10th in 22:37.3. The Purple's top five, point-scoring runners included sophomore Elsie Kmecak who set a personal record of 22:57.6 to finish 16th overall and the freshmen duo of Sophie Yetter (23:12.2) in 22nd and Olivia Pauly (23:15.2) in 23rd.
As a team the Tommies placed third among 10 teams, tallying 77 total points. Winona State took the team win with 39 points, including two of the top three finishers, followed by Purdue Fort Wayne with 66 points.
UP NEXT
Following the season-opening 6K, the Tommies return to the course Sept. 20 at the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas:
"Today was a great start for the team. I instructed them to stick with their groups for the first 3K, stay controlled, and then push harder in the second half of the race, and for the most part, they executed that well. The team has been connecting really well, and I'm excited to see how we progress this season. I believe you'll see a team that's interchangeable, with different top performers in each race, which is what makes a strong team.
"It's always exciting to have so many athletes representing the Tommies for the first time. We know what we need to work on to keep improving and have some key pieces to add back as we move through the season. Now it's time to get back to work as we prepare for Griak and being back at home."
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Cross Country, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's and Women's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @tommiemtfxc and @tommiewxctf
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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