Bluejays host Tabor College Invitational
Women's team finishes second, men finish fourth
The Tabor College cross country team hosted the Tabor Invitational Saturday at Marion Reservoir Cottonwood Point.
The women's team, paced by a pair of top-10 finishers took second place, a sole point behind Hutchinson Community College.
The Blue Dragons also won the men's division, comfortably beating out runner-up Friends, 24-62, and the Bluejay men by 76.
"The women raced well today," said Bluejay coach Karol Hunt. "The top two ran 20s and runners three through six all ran in the 21s.
"That shows the strength of this team and the progress we're making. It's tough to lose by one point, but I am pleased with how this young group is developing. It's good to see the runners pushing each other and we have no predictable order of finish. The benefit is that it keeps us mentally sharp."
Heidi Schmidt led the women with a sixth place time of 20:37 with Bridgette Stevens running a personal record time of 20:46 for seventh.
In a balanced race, Tiffany Stevens finished 19th with a time of 21:38. Shelby Miller was 20th with a 21:39 finish. Amber Wiens was 21st with a time of 21:42 and Ashley Schmidt was 23rd with a time of 21:51.
Stevens' 19th place time was a personal record as was Miller's 20th and Schmidt's 23rd place time.
Heidi Schmidt and Wiens' times were season-highs.
Rebekah Lockhart came in 38th in a season-best 23:48 in the five-kilometer race.
For the second straight race for the men, Kyle and Kevin Larson lead the Bluejays.
Kyle's time of 30:22 and Kevin's 30:40 were good for 14th and 16th, respectively.
Jeff Anenson took 21st (31:01), and Matt Lynam was 23rd in 31:12.
"The goal of those four was to break the 30:00 barrier and they were disappointed it didn't happen," Hunt said. "However they raced hard. We can't be disappointed when we don't leave anything out there on the course."
Of the 55 finishers, Richard Galli finished 35th (32:54), Brandon Voth was 40th (33:26), and Zac Remboldt took 49th (36:16).
"Brandon set a personal record time and is progressing well," said Hunt. "It's taking Richard and Zac a little longer to transition to the intensity of college running.
"Both are talented runners and we are striving to build up strength through practice and to establish consistency on race day. I have the confidence that it will happen."
Rounding out the finishers for the men was Will Higerd, who came in 50th in 36:17.
"I feel badly for Will right now," Hunt said. "He's working really hard, but he's hit a plateau."
On the positive side, the men edged the McPherson Bulldogs for the fourth spot, 100-103, a team that beat the Bluejays a week earlier.
The Bluejays return to action Oct. 8 at the Kansas Wesleyan Invitational.
The women begin at 12:30 p.m. with the men starting at 1:15.
"With a week off from racing, we will spend some time focusing on the workouts," said Hunt. "At times, it's good to take the pressure off of preparing for a race at the end of the week."
Women's Results
6. H. Schmidt, 20:37. 7. B. Stevens, 20:46. 19. T. Stevens, 21:38. 20. Miller, 21:39. 21. Wiens, 21:42. 23. A. Schmidt, 21:51. 38. Lockhart, 23:48.
Men's
14. Kyle Larson, 30:22. 16. Kevin Larson, 30:40. 21. Anenson, 31:01. 23. Lynam, 31:12. 35. Galli, 32:54. 40. Voth, 33:26. 49. Remboldt, 36:16. 50. Higerd, 36:17.
