The College of Saint Benedict cross country team had several returning athletes along with a number of first-year runners who helped make the 2009 season a success. They were led by head coach, Robin Balder- Lanoue, who had the utmost confidence in all of her athletes. Her motivation and the teams support for one another helped the Blazers end the season in 12th place at the NCAA Central Regional.

The Blazers began their season with a dual meet against Saint Catherine University. The team was led by sophomore Kaycee Knutson, who finished second and was followed by senior Alyx Chapman. Other top performers were Shannon McEvoy, Kelsey Torchia and Molly Noel who rounded out the top five for CSB.

The next meet for the Blazers was at the National Catholic Invite at the University of Notre Dame where CSB came out with a fifth place win out of twenty-four teams. Chapman came in first for the Blazers taking 13th place and was followed closely by Knutson who took 16th place. Others who finished with strong times were McEvoy, Kaitlyn Schwarz, Ashley Irons, and Megan Smith.

Then at the MIAC Championships, Chapman took 13th place out of 229 runners and was named All – Conference. Next was Knutson who took 18th place and was named an All – Conference Honorable Mention for her performance. Schwarz, Smith, and Irons all finished with strong times which helped the Blazers secure seventh place out of twelve teams. Noel was also named to the 2009 All – MIAC Women’s cross country Sportsmanship Team.

The CSB Blazers finished off the 2009 season at the NCAA Central Regional race where they earned 12th place out of 26 teams. Chapman took 30th out of 130 runners and was named All – Regional. Knutson followed Chapman along with Schwarz, Smith, and Caitlin Schnettler who rounded out the top five for the College of Saint Benedict.