Women’s XC led by freshman Gerber
The top nine women on the cross-country team traveled all the way to Mason, Ohio, this past weekend for the NCAA Division III Pre-National race. The race, held this year at King’s Island Golf Course, and hosted by Wilmington College, is designed to give the best teams from around the country a chance to preview the course before the actual national championship takes place in November.
Head coach Chris Hardie wanted to predominantly give the underclassmen team an opportunity and experience to race with some of the best talent from around the United States.
“The women knew that this race would have an impressive field,” said Hardie. “There were three nationally and 11 regionally ranked teams. The mindset was to run the best race that they could without getting wrapped up in how we would place as a team.”
As a team, the women performed quite well considering the caliber of teams and individual runners that participated in the event. The Jackets took 12th place in the 27-team field, and they finished only nine points behind Eastern Mennonite, one of the top teams in the Southeast Region.
It should also be noted that one of the top women for the team, freshman Kerianne Hensel, could not travel with the team due to illness. Her presence would have provided even more depth for the surging Jackets.
“The major challenge that we posed to the girls was to compete harder in the last 1,000 meters,” said Hardie. “We urged them to hang on to every spot. The team was successful and really battled well in the last part of the course. Considering it was one of the top performances in our team history, we were very proud with how the women performed.”
Freshman Julie Gerber continued her remarkable first season, as she paced the Yellow Jackets with a time of 21:50.07, which was good enough to land her a 21st place finish in the 321-woman 6-kilometer race. Even though the focus of every race for the women is about performing well for the team, Gerber admitted the sweet emotion that came out in her individual success.
“It felt really great to place 21st in a race with so much talent,” said Gerber. “There was always someone for me to run with and help push me along to keep my pace and stay on target.”
Another freshman, Elinore Loch, who finished second on the team with a 50th place showing (22:33), expressed her fantastic experience due to the recognition that can come following a positive performance on an elevated stage.
“Running in a field with that much talent was humbling, but it was also incredibly exciting,” said Loch. “It was a chance for myself, and the team as a whole to show what we’re capable of.”
The fast course in Mason paved the way for numerous personal records, which when it comes down to the core of running, is what runners strive to achieve every time they compete. Loch experienced a significant personal record at the course, and was overwhelmed when she found out her time.
“It was exhilarating to get a two minute PR [personal record],” said Loch. ” I had no idea whatsoever what my time was when I crossed the finish line. When Joy [teammate who did not run] showed me my time, I couldn’t believe it at first. When it finally started to sink in, I was possibly one of the happiest girls in the world.”
Senior Annette Aho and freshman Angie Marchetti also chipped in solid performances, as they placed 78th and 100th, respectively. To round off the top-five for the women was sophomore Katie Latimer, who placed 136th in the event.
After three weekends of difficult races, the women finally get the chance to relax from competing for the next two weeks. They will receive a much-needed weekend off this Saturday, and they will run in the homecoming 5k a week from Saturday. The ladies will finally be back in competitive action on Oct. 18, as they travel to Gettysburg for a highly anticipated invitational.
Hardie understands the need for rest amidst a demanding cross-country season, and he hopes this upcoming rest will pay dividends later in the season.
“It’s always nice for the athletes to have a few down weeks before they make that last push for the championship meet,” said Hardie. “We still train at a very high level during the week, but mentally it’s a nice break.”