ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After an impressive performance in the season-opening home meet, the College of Saint Benedict cross country team will travel and compete at the Carleton Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.
The meet, entitled the "Running of the Cows," is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., with the women's 6K race. The men's 8K race will follow. For live stats,
click here.
Next on the schedule
Following this competition, CSB will run on Friday, Sept. 29 (5:15 p.m.) at the Blugold Invitational at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wis.
CSB ranked 25th in DIII
CSB, which opened the season with 14 individual personal bests and the top five finishers at the Toni St. Pierre Invite in St. Cloud, Minn., is ranked 25th in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) 2023 NCAA DIII National Coaches Poll for Sept. 13. CSB, which was also ranked fourth in the North Region for the second straight poll, was ranked in the preseason poll nationally at No. 24.
Bennies shine in opening competition – Smith receives 9th MIAC weekly honor
Directed by head coach
Robin Balder-Lanoue, CSB had an outstanding week one performance and was led by two-time cross country All-American
Fiona Smith. In her first race of the year, Smith set a school record of 16:41.53, which was over 40 seconds better than her school record (17:21.3) set a year ago. Smith, who was the NCAA DIII runner-up a year ago, was named the MIAC Athlete of the Week for the ninth time in cross country on Tuesday (Sept. 12). At the first competition of the season, CSB held the top five places in the race and had 14 runners who had personal best performances. CSB had five total runners crack the program's top-50.
Smith, who finished second at the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships a year ago, continued to perform at a remarkable level with a clocking of 16:41.53. She bettered her previous 5K time of 17:21.3, which she ran at the CSB/SJU Invite on Sept. 3, 2022. Smith, who is the two-time defending MIAC and North Region champion, bettered the field by over two minutes as she ran to her 22
nd record and 48
th individual title in cross country or track and field at CSB.
Senior
Annie Kiolbasa, who was All-MIAC and All-North Region a year ago, finished second by clocking a personal 5K best of 18:41.38 which ranks eighth all-time and bettered her previous mark of 19:22.2 or a jump of nearly 41 seconds.
In third place was senior
Bridget Tetmeyer who had CSB's 33
rd all-time best run at 19:23.19, setting a PR (19:24.2).
In fourth place
Keiley Maahs clocked a PR of 19:30.99, which ranks 44
th all-time at CSB. She had a previous best of 20:45.1 as she surpassed that mark by over 1:14. In addition, 2022 honorable mention All-MIAC sophomore
Mary Kenney ranks tied for 49
th place on the CSB all-time chart after a 19:33.50 clocking which placed her fifth.
Also, for CSB, senior
Lucy Lyngen clocked 20:21.3, which broke her previous best of 21.85.5 by over a minute. First-year
Julia Babineau finished her first collegiate race in 11
th place after a clocking of 20:35.17. Junior
Kalli Smith was 12
th at 20:45.18 while first-year
Annabella Witschen took 13
th at 21:01.28.
Other CSB finishers included (time, plus previous best): sophomore
Brooke Verkinnes, 15
th, 21:11.45 (21;47.4);
Ava Juntunen-Novak, 17
th, 21:22.42 (24:42.6); junior
Emily Tess, 18
th, 21:30.11 (22:10.6); senior
Erin Martin, 19
th, 21:30.58 (22:07.7); sophomore
Tatum Liebke, 20
th, 21:42.86; sophomore
Rachel Olinger, 21
st, 21:48.27 (22:20.4); first-year
Taylor Radaich, 22
nd, 21:52.07; first-year
Abby Bufkin, first-year, 22:08.88; sophomore
Hailley Thompson, 24
th, 22:13.26 (22.56.9); sophomore
Meaghan McDonald, 25
th, 22:19.75; first-year
Leah Taszarek, 26
th, 22:23.74; sophomore
Ayva Burshem, 28
th, 23:00.32; junior
Maranda Thier, 29
th, 23:16.59 (23:31.2); sophomore
Isabel Kraabel, 31
st, 24:08.67 (27:00.4); first-year
EllaMae Neaton, 33
rd, 24:34.50; first-year
Samantha Eekhoff, 34
th, 25:03.82; first-year
Marin Kaster, 35
th, 25:07.57; and first-year
Emily Koch, 37
th, 26:00.35.
