Kenosha, WI — Goshen College head cross country coach Doug Yoder said that his goal was for junior Laura Harnish to finish among the top 50 competitors at Saturday’s NAIA National Championship meet at the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Sadly, neither Yoder nor Harnish were able to see if that target would come to fruition.
Harnish injured her left foot just one mile into Saturday’s event, eventually dropping out of the race and taking her first “Did Not Finish” result of her storied collegiate career. The injury occurred during a tight, congested portion of the race, as Harnish was unsure of exactly how the injury occurred.
“It was a rough day for Laura today,” Yoder said solemnly. “She was on a narrow and crowded section of the course and turned her left foot over, and she said she wasn’t sure if she clipped another runner or just took a misstep on the gravel path she was on at that point. She tried to keep going for about another 400 meters but then just dropped out.”
Harnish — who was on crutches following the injury — was scheduled to receive an x-ray on her foot Monday. Goshen College head athletic trainer Linda Kaminskis said that, upon initial inspection, it is probable that Harnish suffered a broken foot.
“Laura is dealing with a possible fracture of either the fourth or fifth metatarsal,” Kaminskis said Monday. “We will know more following the results of her x-ray. Either way, there is a good chance that she will spend some time with a specialist to ensure the quickest, most healthy manner of recovery possible.”
The result was a vastly disappointing end to what otherwise was a stellar season for the junior out of Flanagan, Illinois, as Harnish finished as Goshen’s top runner in each of the team’s eight regular-season meets while winning both the Bethel College Invitational title (click here for related article) and the Defiance College Invitational (click here for article).
Perhaps even more disappointing was what could have been on Saturday: Had Harnish equaled her season-best time of 18:34.0 at the NAIA National Championships, she would have finished 37th overall. In last year’s championship meet — Harnish’s first appearance on the NAIA’s biggest stage — she finished 154th in a time of 19:58.30 (click here for article).
“It is disappointing when looking at (Saturday’s) times and knowing that Laura could have easily been in the top 50,” Yoder said. “The course was running fairly quickly and the cold weather wasn’t too big of a concern for Laura. It’s just one of those things in sports, though. I know Laura will bounce back and want to take another shot at this thing next year.”
Azusa Pacific University’s Jaime Canterbury won the individual title at the event, finishing in a time of 17:10.8. Simon Fraser University won the team event, edging out NAIA Region IX and X champion Cedarville University by 46 points.
The Mid-Central Conference was well-represented at Saturday’s national championship, as Spring Arbor University (12th place) and Indiana Wesleyan University (16th place) finished near the top of the 29-team field. Wesleyan’s Emily Lasala finished eighth overall in a time of 17:56.7. Two-hundred and sixty-eight athletes finished the race. For detailed team and individual results from the 2007 NAIA Women’s National Championships, click here.
“Our conference did quite well in both the men’s and women’s team standings,” Yoder said. “It shows how strong our league is in relation to the rest of the NAIA.”
Harnish and company will now turn to an off-season of work in hopes of another opportunity in the 2008 season. Check back to this website for the latest in off-season news and honors. To contact Doug Yoder, call him at (574) 535-7495 or click here to send him an email.
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2007 Season News
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Junior Laura Harnish 
Watch video highlights from the NAIA Regional VIII meet!