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SEPT.
9 — Slighted Roster Makes Strong Push At Defiance
Goshen
finishes third out of 11 despite missing two of its top
runners |
Defiance, OH — It was a case
of what might have been for the Goshen College women’s cross
country team Saturday at the Defiance College Invitational, as
the team ran to an impressive third place performance despite missing
two of its top athletes.
Senior and three-time NAIA All-American Petrana Petkova and sophomore
Laura Harnish were unavailable to run due to personal circumstances
Saturday, keeping Goshen from what in all probability would have
been another team championship (the squad won the second annual
Goshen College Hokum Karem last weekend; click here for article).
Despite missing two major pieces to its collective makeup, Goshen
still performed brilliantly, taking a third-place team finish behind
a strong run from senior Laura Herr (third place overall, 19:57.9
time). Eleven teams participated in the meet.
“The women turned in an outstanding performance and should
have been at least second overall in the meet,” said Doug
Yoder, Goshen head coach. “We were missing some key people
and that had an obvious effect.”
Herr was flanked by four freshmen in the Leafs’ scoring push,
as first-year Whitney Turner took home 10th place overall in a
time of 20:51.6 and classmate Rachael Baker finishing 14th in a
21:10.1 clip. Tina Peters was next in line, finishing 24th in a
time of 22:14.8, while freshman Laura Stevens reigned in Goshen’s
final countable time in 32nd place overall — in a time of
22:46.5.
“Laura Herr ran a strong race by placing third overall,” Yoder
said. “Our four freshmen runners picked up the next four
spots for us, which was very encouraging to see. They are not intimidated
by this level of competition and all are showing signs of improvement
in practice and competition each time they run.”
The additions of Petkova and Harnish will undoubtedly make Goshen’s
team efforts even better, as the squad again was not at full strength
for the Defiance meet — last season the team brought only
four athletes, making itself ineligible for team scoring (click
here for article).
Herr’s clip Saturday — while extremely
impressive — was nearly 40 seconds off the individual medalist
time, as Findlay University’s Emily Gauger took the blue
ribbon in a time of 19:18.3. Ninety-four runners participated in
Saturday’s event, with the University of Findlay capturing
first-place team honors with 19 points. Manchester College followed
(80 points),
narrowly outdoing Goshen (81 points). For complete team
and individual scores to the event, click here.
Goshen will next compete in the annual Indiana Intercollegiates,
held this year on the campus of Indiana State University. Women’s
race time is set for 4:45 p.m.
“We are looking forward to the Indiana Intercollegiate meet
this weekend to see how we stack up against some of the Mid-Central
Conference schools,” Yoder said.
Goshen Individual Results
Laura Herr (3rd) — 19:57.9
Whitney Turner (10th) — 20:51.6
Rachael Baker (13th) — 21:10.1
Tina Peters (24th) — 22:14.8
Laura Stevens (32nd) — 22:46.8
Anna Mast (35th) — 22:52.8
Tessa Horst (54th) — 24:33.2
Kassidy Cheek (61st) — 25:08.9
Rachel Wigginton (62nd) — 25:08.9
Bethany Loberg (81st) — 27:42.8
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  Senior
Laura Herr
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