ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Fiona Smith already has her fingerprints all over the College of Saint Benedict cross country team’s record books – and it seems like she’s just getting started.
Saturday afternoon, Smith because the third athlete in program history to earn MIAC Athlete of the Meet accolades after winning the individual title at the 2021 MIAC Championships. For her solid race and MIAC title, Smith is this week’s CSB Athlete of the Week.
From 2004 until 2017, the Bennies had just one conference cross country individual champion after Leah Wurm won the title as a junior in 2004. In 2018 – 14 years later – Morgan Pierce became Saint Benedict’s second MIAC cross country champion, and now, three years later, Smith added a third individual champion to the team’s record books.
Smith’s latest win – her fourth of the season – came against an impressive conference field that featured two ranked teams in St. Olaf and Carleton and several regionally ranked teams. She finished the 6K course in 21:28.6 – 11 seconds faster than Carleton’s Clara Mayfield, who took second in 21:39.1. That time also marked the third-fastest time in MIAC Championship history behind Bethel’s Marie Borner (21:11, 2008) and Carleton’s Ruth Steinke (21:28.4, 2014).
If she continues her record-breaking ways in future years, Smith – a sophomore for the Bennies – could become the first athlete in program history to win multiple MIAC titles.
Saturday’s win sets Smith up for the NCAA North Region Championships Saturday, Nov. 13, in Eau Claire, Wis. Smith and CSB’s other top six runners compete that day for a chance to run at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Ky.
The rest of the team competes once more this Friday, Nov. 5, when they host the annal Fall Finale at 5 p.m. at the Prep School Hill on the SJU campus.
