ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Morgan Pierce’s running journey hasn’t always been an easy one, and the start of her career with the College of Saint Benedict cross country team may not have been what she had hoped for.
But her hard work and persistence paid off, and Saturday she became the second-ever CSB cross country runner to win a MIAC individual title. For her big race and for winning the conference championship, Pierce is this week’s CSB Athlete of the Week.
In her first season with the CSB cross country team, Pierce ran in six meets, and won the Fall Finale to cap off the year. She only ran at four races as a sophomore, but things started to turn around her junior year. She won the Luther Invite and the Alumnae meet, and recorded three other top-five finishes throughout the year. Pierce looked poised to have a big MIAC meet – but she ended up dealing with health issues the week of the race and finished 25
th, good enough for All-MIAC Honorable Mention.
This season, nothing has stood in Pierce’s way. She finished in the top 20 in all five meets she competed in leading up to the conference championships, and ran “the perfect race” Saturday according to head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue to secure the MIAC title.
Saturday morning, Pierce finished 10 seconds ahead of Carleton’s Emma Greenlee to become CSB’s first MIAC cross country champion since 2004. Pierce and Greenlee had gone back and forth against each other all season, but Pierce held on for the win when it mattered most at the conference meet. Pierce joins Leah Wurm ’06 as the school’s only two conference cross country champions. Wurm – who was recently inducted into CSB’s athletic hall of fame – won the conference title in 2004, and also beat out a Carleton runner to take first.
Pierce finished Saturday’s race in 22:30.0, 10 seconds ahead of Greenlee. Pierce’s personal best time is 22:12, which is five seconds shy of Wurm’s school record. Pierce has another shot at the record Saturday, Nov. 10 at the NCAA Central Region meet where she looks to become CSB’s first national qualifier since Wurm, who qualified individually for nationals in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
