GOSHEN, Ind. - The 2011 cross country season came to a close for the Goshen College women's team as they grabbed eighth place at the Mid-Central College Conference Championships at Shanklin Park on Saturday.
A strong and quick field of 124 runners competed in the 5k course just down the street from the Goshen College campus. The familiary stomping grounds allowed five Maple Leafs to run career best times, while two more finished with their quickest times of this season.
Freshman Ali Hochstetler (Goshen, Ind.) was the first Goshen runner to cross the finish line, running a career best 19:58.6. She becomes just the eighth first-year runner in the history of the program to crack the 20-minute mark.
Another underclassman was not far behind as sophomore Audrey Thill (Paoli, Ind.) finished 33rd overall in 20:23.8 (also a career best), while junior Alita Yoder (Elkhart, Ind.) and sophomore Jenica Corbett (Goshen, Ind.) ran side-by-side for much of the day before finishing 39th and 40th. Yoder clocked in at 20:53.5 and Corbett crossed at 20:54.2.
Rounding out the scored portion of the Maple Leafs lineup was sophomore Alli Beitler (Berne, Ind.) who checked in at 21:28.3. Goshen tallied 189 points to finish 8th. Indiana Wesleyan University won the 2011 championship with just 43 points.
Yoder, Leah Thill (21:28.3) and Sarah Rutt (25:44.1) were also career best marks, while Beitler and Corbett ran the fastest they have this year. Complete Goshen finisher's are below.
