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OCT.
21 — Petkova Just Misses On MCC Three-Peat
Senior
finishes fourth; Herr, Harnish join with All-MCC accolades
in sixth, eighth |
Marion, IN — For the first time
in her brilliant three-year career at Goshen College, senior All-American
Petrana Petkova had — what she termed — an “off” day
at a major race.
Fortunately her teammates were there to pick up the slack.
Petkova failed to become the school’s first three-time conference
champion at Saturday’s Mid-Central Conference Championships,
but senior Laura Herr and sophomore Laura Harnish provided a strong
kick in leading Goshen to a fourth-place team result.
Petkova, who won both the 2004 and 2005 MCC titles, finished fourth
in a time of 19:09, the slowest clip of her career at a major event.
Herr finished sixth in a clip of 19:22 and Harnish eighth in a
19:35 time, equaling the program’s 2004 team finish and bettering
that of last season’s (the team took a sixth-place result).
With a wet, windy and cold afternoon setting the backdrop Saturday,
Goshen head coach Doug Yoder said he was pleased with his team’s
effort, even if it wasn’t the best of the season.
“The course was very wet and very windy, so all of the times
were slower than would normally be expected,” Yoder said. “Our
women’s team was hoping to be in the top three teams in the
conference, but the competition is very tough. We ran okay for
the conditions presented to us but we know we could have done better.”
Leading that list was Petkova, whose previous MCC Championship
times — 18:45 in 2004 and 18:13 in 2005 — were vastly
quicker than Saturday’s 19:09 clip. Still, Petkova had her
work cut out for her Saturday, as Taylor University’s Laura
York won the individual title in a clip of 18:12, an extremely
fast pace given the course conditions.
Even Petkova’s slower times couldn’t damper the team
picture, however, as Herr and Harnish joined the All-American in
giving Goshen three all-conference performers, a feat that had
not been accomplished since the 2002 season.
“It is great to have three all-conference selections in Petkova,
Herr and Harnish,” Yoder said. “They are all very deserving
of that honor. Basically, you have to go out and perform to get
it. (The top 12 runners are All-MCC performers.) It isn’t
voted on, as it is in other sports.”
The Leafs’ top three runners were backed by freshmen Whitney
Turner (30th place overall, 20:43) and Tina Peters (40th overall,
21:22) to give Goshen a total 83 points on the day. Spring Arbor
University won the team title (42 points), followed by Indiana
Wesleyan University (64 points) and Taylor (67 points). Of the
top 10 individual finishers, three were from Spring Arbor, three
were from Indiana Wesleyan, one was from Taylor and three were
from
Goshen.
Petkova remains as the school’s only two-time conference
champion — male or female — and will look to become
the school’s first two-time NAIA Region VIII Champion in
two weeks. Goshen will next compete in the NAIA Region VIII Championship
on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the very same Indiana Wesleyan University
course.
“We know we will be returning to the same course for regionals
and have learned some valuable lessons about the course this time
out,” Yoder
said. “Our goal is to be in front of a couple of the teams
that were ahead of us and ultimately earn a (team) berth at the
NAIA National Championships in Louisville.”
Goshen Individual Results
Petrana Petkova (4th) — 19:09
Laura Herr (6th) — 19:22
Laura Harnish (8th) — 19:35
Whitney Turner (30th) — 20:43
Tina Peters (40th) — 21:22
Anna Mast (59th) — 22:21
Tessa Horst (62nd) — 22:31
Rachel Wigginton (70th) — 22:49
Rachael Baker (75th) — 23:08
Kassidy Cheek (76th) — 23:13
Camry Hess (80th) — 24:53
Bethany Loberg (83rd) — 26:18
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  Senior
Petrana Petkova
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