The College of Saint Benedict cross country team experienced plenty of individual improvements and successes in the 2019 season.
Six individuals moved up or into the top 50 in program history, and a pair of athletes moved up nearly 100 places from their 2018 finish at the 2019 MIAC Championships.
Leading the way all season for the Bennies was sophomore Tracy Renier, who was the team’s top finisher in each race. She earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention accolades after taking 23rd at the conference meet. Renier, who moved into the top 20 in program history in the 6K, finished 116th as a first year before moving into the top 25.
Junior Althea Gutzmann just missed MIAC honors, finishing in 29th. Junior Jo Merten moved up more than 70 spots in the conference standings, going from a 111th-place finish in 2018 to 41st in 2019. Gutzmann, Merten, Taylor Santangelo, Kennedy Rude and Jena Wachowiak all moved into the top 50 in program history in the 6K.
As a team, the Bennies won the Falcon Invite, hosted by UW-River Falls, on Sept. 6. CSB – which took sixth at the MIAC Championships – had 14 runners record personal-best times at the UW-Eau Claire Invite.
At the end of the season, Renier was named the team MVP. Merten won Most Improved honors, and Gutzmann and Caroline Osborne were the 2019 Bennie Spirit award winners.
Cross Country Review Archives
