West Lafayette, IN — The Goshen College women’s cross country program took its shot against a variety of Indiana colleges and universities at Friday’s Indiana Intercollegiate Championships, finishing ninth in the “small school” division and 16th overall at Purdue University’s Varsity Cross Country Course.

The annual event — which includes an open invite to all college programs within the state of Indiana — featured 20 teams ranging from NCAA Division I powers to NAIA and NCAA Division III schools. While Goshen could not duplicate its performance from last season as the top NAIA school in the state (click here for article), junior Laura Harnish was awfully impressive, finishing 14th overall in a season-best time of 18:36.19.

“We showed some improvement overall in our times but also showed the need to tighten up our top five or six runners for scoring in big meets like this,” said Doug Yoder, Goshen head coach. “Laura Harnish again ran an outstanding race.”

Harnish, who won her first ever collegiate title at last week’s Defiance College Invitational (click here for article), finished fourth overall in the “Little State” division, or non-NCAA Division I opponents. Harnish was flanked by sophomores Rachael Baker (20:06.52, 36th small school, 76th overall) and Tina Peters (21:06.55, 63rd small school, 118th overall). Sophomores Maria Byler (21:27.89) and Michelle Miller (23:15.69) were the Leafs’ final scoring runners.

“Rachael and Tina also ran solid and are continuing to show vast improvement,” Yoder said.

Purdue University won the overall meet, capturing 49 points. The Boilermakers’ Katie Morrical won individual medalist honors, finishing in a time of 17:39.20.

Goshen’s 443 total team points bettered that of Manchester College (464), Grace College (512), Earlham College (529) and Huntington University (594). For a complete list of individual and team results — including small school breakdowns and finishes — click here.

Goshen will return to competition a week from Saturday, when the team will travel to Cedarville University for the First Cedarville University Open. Women’s race time is set for 10 a.m.

Goshen Individual Results
(Small School/Composite School Divisional Finishes)
Laura Harnish (4th/14th) — 18:36.19
Rachael Baker (36th/76th) — 20:06.52
Tina Peters (63rd/118th) — 21:06.55
Maria Byler (71st/128th) — 21:27.60
Michelle Miller (97th/154th) — 23:15.69
Renee Miller (98th/155th) — 23:15.69
Tessa Horst (99th/156th) — 23:40.43
Bethany Loberg (103rd/160th) — 24:47.78