Men finish seventh
The Tabor College cross-country team competed Saturday in Hastings, Neb., at the Bronco Invitational held at the Elks’ Country Club.
Leading the way for the second week in a row for the sixth-place Lady Bluejays was Christina Addison, who finished 19th out of 75 runners in 19 minutes, 51 seconds.
Of the nine competing schools, the women finished with 174 points while the men’s 201 points left them in seventh place.
Concordia was the overall winner in both divisions with the women edging Doane, 39-57, and the men also downing Doane, 30-59.
“We had a good racing day, running some of our best times of the season,” Bluejay coach Karol Hunt said. “Because we were competing against the strong Nebraska teams, we focused on our times rather than our places.”
Liz Kleinsasser made a successful return to the course after being sidelined with an injury, posting the second best time for the women in 22:03 for 48th.
The chase to stay in the top-50 was a heated one with Kelli Kopper coming in 50th in 22:04.
Hot on Kelli’s heels and six seconds behind were teammates Jera Teselle, who finished 52nd, and Leah Kopper in 53rd (22:23).
“It was good to have Liz back running again,” Hunt said. “She is not yet in race shape, but is still making a good contribution to the team.”
Rounding out the women’s field was Carrie Schroeder in 59th place at 22:57 while Tessa Siebert and Julia Carlton came in 63rd and 64th in 23:30 and 23:40, respectively.
Elissa Richert took 66th in 24:04.
Zach Gould also paced the men’s team for the second straight week on the 8k course — finishing 46th out of 107 with a season-best time of 29:03.
“Zach has been really focused in his training and it is paying off in his performance,” Hunt said.
Zac Remboldt came in 57th and Dan Sigley was 62nd, running 29:34 and 29:51, respectively.
Ric Johnson finished 79th in 30:37, six seconds and five places ahead of Justin Ball.
Dustin Barnett wrapped up the men’s field with a 34:43 for 102nd.
“It was a good day for us,” said Hunt. “I was pleased with our efforts”.
On tap for the Bluejays Saturday is the NAIA Mid-States Classic in Winfield hosted by Southwestern College.
The women are scheduled to start at 10:15 a.m. with the men starting 45 minutes later.