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Lady
Lions place fourth in stampede Staff Writer Competing
in a race with nearly 400 runners seems overwhelming, but for the
Missouri Southern women's cross country team, it proved to be an easy
task. The
women's cross country team competed strong in the Missouri Southern
Stampede, finishing fifth out of 19 teams. The team entered a total of
seven runners, trying to improve its pack time, and did in fact achieve
the goal. Although one of the runners, Mary Garrett, was unable to run
due to an injury, the team worked hard at filling in the gaps. The
women competed in a 6k race, which is one kilometer longer than usual.
Competing in a longer race helped the team to understand where it needed
to improve and the areas they are continuing to advance. The
women's workouts have been intense for the past five weeks helping them
to compete in an event of that caliber. Each week, the women train hard
in hopes of improving their times for the next meet. "Jamie
(Burnham, assistant coach) and I are continually pleased with their
results and their response to their workouts the past five weeks,"
said Patty Vavra, head coach The
team's average time was 23:43, showing the team's vast improvement.
Ashley Caffey finished with a time of 23:20; Johanna Kanala, 23:22; Jen
Noelken, 23:30; Erin Click, 23:49; Emily Cassin, 24:32; Rachel
Patterson, 25:41; and Jessica Deatrick, 25:48. The
team's focus is on closing the gaps between the runners making the
team's overall performance better. Vavra thinks closing the gap between
the No. 4 and 5 runners is achievable and hope to accomplish this in the
next competition. "The
team definitely can close that gap, and that is what we are going to
work on for the next meet," Vavra said. The
women's cross country team would like to thank the women's basketball
team and others for helping with the meet on Sept. 21. The
women travel Saturday to compete in the University of Missouri-Rolla
Invitational. |