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SEPT.
16 — Petkova Leads Team Against Big Schools
Squad
goes hip to hip with NCAA Div. I schools; finishes 14th
out of 25 at I.U. |
Bloomington, IN — The Goshen
College women’s cross country team got its first taste of
a major invitational Friday afternoon at Indiana University, as
the team faced off against teams ranging from the junior college
level to NCAA Div. I in the annual Indiana Intercollegiates. Led
by junior All-American Petrana Petkova, Goshen finished 14th overall
out of 25 total participating schools and seventh out of the 17-team “division
two” small college division, giving head coach Doug Yoder
a barometer of where his talented team stood among most of Indiana’s
colleges.
“This is as large of a field (203 total runners) as we’ll
face until we get to nationals,” Yoder said. “I felt
our athletes met the challenge of running with the size of the
competition as well as the quality of running side by side with
athletes from D1 programs.”
Petkova was the surge behind the team’s finish, taking ninth
overall and third in the division two ranks with a clip of 18:27.0.
That time helped Goshen to an overall point total of 412, defeating
Mid-Central Conference foes Huntington University (538 points),
Grace College (654 points) and the University of St. Francis (764
points), along with edging out NCAA Division I University of Evansville
(437 points).
“Petrana’s race went about as we expected,” Yoder
said. “She
was in the top five for most of the race until the last 1000 meters.
It is good to see her be competitive in a race this size.”
Freshman Laura Harnish was second in line for the Leafs, finishing
85th overall and 39th in the small college division. She was flanked
by junior Laura Herr, who was just seven spots back in the division
two race with a clip of 20:52.0. Senior Rachel Yantzi was a strong
fourth runner for Yoder’s squad, finishing 60th/111th in
a time of 21:06.0.
“Laura Harnish and Laura Herr also had solid races,” Yoder
said. “We’re still working on developing the whole
team and to place seventh in this kind of event is very promising.
If you take away the NCAA Division I and II schools (in the overall
race), we finished fifth.”
DePauw University won the division two team event with 72 total
points, while Indiana University took the overall championship
with 63 points. The University of Southern Indiana’s Heather
Cooksey won the overall individual medalist trophy by finishing
the race in a time of 17:46. Since Southern Indiana was placed
in the division two ranks, Cooksey was the small college medalist
as well. The only other division two runner to outdo Petkova was
Hanover College senior Leah Peelman, who finished in 18:24, just
three seconds in front of Petkova.
For a complete list of division two team and individual finishes
from the Indiana Intercollegiate event, click here. For division
one team and individual results, click here. To see overall results
(how teams and individuals fared as one composite race) click here.
Goshen will now stay idle until Saturday, Oct. 1 when the team
will host the Goshen College Invitational during the Leafs’ homecoming
weekend. Women’s race time is slated to begin at 11:30 a.m.
Goshen Individual Results
(Small School/Composite School
Divisional Finishes)
Petrana Petkova (3rd/9th) — 18:27.0
Laura Harnish (39th/85th) — 20:43.0
Laura Herr (46th/94th) — 20:52.0
Rachel Yantzi (60th/111th) — 21:06.0
Anna Mast (104th/165th) — 22:35.0
Rachel Wigginton (120th/184th) — 24:16.0
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  Junior
Petrana Petkova
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