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NOV.
4 — Leafs Take Three To Nationals For First Time
Herr
joins Petkova and Harnish to qualify for NAIA National
Championships |
Marion, IN — Following a wet
and windy Mid-Central Conference Championship meet two weeks ago,
the Goshen College women’s cross country team was disappointed
with its collective finish, even though seniors Petrana Petkova,
Laura Herr and sophomore Laura Harnish all acquired All-MCC status.
Taking the same Indiana Wesleyan University course Saturday, there
was no rain and there was no wind.
There was also no disappointment.
Petkova, Harnish and Herr all qualified for the NAIA National Championships
at Saturday’s NAIA Region VIII Championships, finishing third,
seventh and 10th overall, respectively, giving the Goshen program
three National Championship qualifiers for the first time in school
history. With the top five individual runners advancing to nationals,
Harnish and Herr qualified as a result of Siena Heights University,
Spring Arbor University and Aquinas College all qualifying for
nationals as teams. With five of Saturday’s top 10 runners
from those institutions, the door was opened for Harnish and Herr
to qualify — an opportunity they quickly cashed in on with
strong races.
The trio’s finish also pushed Goshen to a fifth-place team
finish at the 12-team event, bettering its sixth-place result of
the last two seasons. The Leafs (111 points) finished ahead of
host Indiana Wesleyan (118) — a team that had beaten Goshen
at the MCC Championships (click here for related article) — as
well as Cornerstone University (169), Bethel College (223), Huntington
University (232), Marian College (280), the University of St. Francis
(324) and Grace College (349).
“Our women’s team did an outstanding job finishing
fifth Saturday,” said
Doug Yoder, Goshen head coach. “We finished ahead of Indiana
Wesleyan which at conference we did not. We came close to Taylor
(96 team points) but were just a bit short.”
Petkova’s time of 18:10 Saturday was nearly a full minute
off her MCC Championship pace of two weeks ago, while Harnish’s
18:50 clip was 45 seconds better than her league-title race time.
Herr, who gave perhaps the most inspired performance of her career,
finished 10th in a time of 19:01, a 21-second betterment from her
clip two weeks earlier.
Yoder and staff had to wait for word from the NAIA selection committee
on whether or not Herr would qualify as an individual, as it was
unknown if Aquinas College would receive a team at-large bid. With
the NAIA allotting two automatic team berths per region — Spring
Arbor (68 team points) and Siena Heights (68 team points) took
those slots — it was unclear whether Aquinas would qualify
via an at-large bid. Thankfully for Herr, the Saints did, and the
senior punched her ticket to Louisville.
With or without Aquinas’ bid, Petkova, Harnish and Herr all
received All-NAIA Region VIII status as a result of finishing in
the meet’s top 10, also a first for the GC women’s
cross country program.
“Having three finish as all-district is very impressive,” Yoder
said. “It’s the first time in our history that three
have made it to nationals. Even though we lose Petkova and Herr
next year, we are optimistic and hope to earn a spot at nationals
as a team.”
Freshman Whitney Turner finished fourth for the team and 39th overall
at the meet, ending in a clip of 20:06. Classmate Tina Peters was
fifth for the squad and 60th overall, concluding the scoring for
Goshen in a time of 20:42.
Taylor’s Laura York won the regional event, finishing in
a blistering 17:49 pace. For a complete look at team and individual
performances at the NAIA Region VIII Championships, click here.
As a team, Goshen concludes its season with the result, but Petkova,
Harnish and Herr all move on. The trio will compete at the NAIA
National Championships at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville
on Saturday, Nov.18. Women’s race time is set for 10:30 a.m.
For information on the NAIA National Championship event, click
here. For a list of all automatic and at-large bids to the event — including
teams and individuals — click here.
Goshen Individual Results
Petrana Petkova (3rd) — 18:10
Laura Harnish (7th) — 18:50
Laura Herr (10th) — 19:01
Whitney Turner (39th) — 20:06
Tina Peters (60th) — 20:42
Anna Mast (91st) — 21:46
Tessa Horst (94) — 21:52
Laura Stevens (100th) — 22:08
Rachel Wigginton (107th) — 22:25
Kassidy Cheek (110th) — 22:42
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  Senior
Laura Herr
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