Lady Bluejays second at Bulldog Invitational
The Lady Bluejay cross country team enjoyed a successful meet Saturday, competing at the McPherson Bulldog Invitational.
Led by four runners finishing in the top 15, the short-handed Lady Bluejays managed to finish second out of five KCAC schools, scoring 48 points.
Southwestern was the top overall finisher in both men's and women's divisions, with the Lady 'Builders 19 points ahead of Tabor.
Leading the way for the women was Liz Kleinsasser, who finished second only to Southwestern's Ericka Franklin's winning time of nineteen minutes, 55 seconds, while Kleinsasser finished in 20:18.
Heidi Schmidt was second for Tabor, running at 21:55 for fifth, and Jera Tesselle was ninth (22:16).
Closing out Tabor's medalists was Ashley Schmidt, who just missed the 23:00 mark, coming in 15th out of 38 finishers in 23:04.
The battle to stay in the Bluejays' top five was a fierce one between Leah Kopper and Carrie Schroeder, but it was Kopper who succeeded, edging Schroeder for 17th by a mere second.
Others competing, excluding the injured Shelby Miller and Amber Wiens, were Tessa Siebert (24, 24:33), Tasheena Ruzinsky (27, 24:43), and Elissa Richert (33, 25:52).
"This meet was a confidence builder for us," Bluejay coach Karol Hunt said. "We ran well on a difficult, hilly course and with a similar field, a couple of runners who ordinarily are not recognized were able to be."
Zac Remboldt paced the field for the men's third-place team, picking up its only medal with a 12th-place time of 30:48.
The 'Builders won the men's division by a comfortable 36-point margin over the runner-up hosting Bulldogs. Tabor finished with 77 points, 22 behind McPherson, out of seven schools.
The men, however, did get a bright spot with four runners finishing in the top 30.
Justin Ball was 21st (31:53), Dan Sigley came in 24th (32:11), with Caleb Schroeder six seconds behind him for 25th. Adam McPeck's goal thus far has been to snag a top-five finish for the Bluejay runners at least once.
He was rewarded Saturday, running a 33:23 for 29th in the eight-kilometer race.
"Last year when we ran on this course, the conditions were brutal with the wind and heat added to the hills," Hunt said. "In our preparation last week, we really focused on being mentally tough.
"That proved positive. Our times were all faster for the returning runners."
Tabor gets a post-season tune-up Saturday at the Southwestern College/NAIA Mid-States Classic in Winfield with the women starting at 10:15 a.m. and the men beginning 45 minutes later.
