Taking first place as a team, the Chargers came home with a major victory after racing at the Calvin Knight Classic on Sept. 10.
“The meet went very well from an individual and team standpoint,” Sophomore Vera Thompson said. “Everyone put themselves into position and finished in a good physical and mental spot that we’ll keep building from as the season progresses.”
Head coach R.P. White said the team mentally prepared for the race by thinking about how they performed at the beginning of last fall’s season.
“The big talk going in was, ‘Are we a better team at this point than we were last year?’ The conditions were about the same, the course was about the same. We definitely showed progress within our times and within our places.”
Sophomore Liz Wamsley took first place with a time of 21:27.
“Liz opened really well running by herself the entire race,” White said. “That was a really cool result to see.”
Hillsdale’s 2nd finisher was Junior Meg Scheske, who came in 3rd with a time of 22:27. White said Scheske excelled in the race considering that she took a wrong turn.
“Meg Scheske was running an awesome race at the end,” White said. “She actually put together a much better race than what her time reflects.”
Junior Gwynne Riley finished 3rd for Hillsdale, taking 6th overall with a time of 22:44. She was followed by Thompson, who took 9th overall with a time of 23:12.
“I remember feeling calm and mentally collected while running alongside my teammate, Gwynne, for the first half,” Thompson said. “I accomplished the goal of going out there and seeing what I could do.”
Junior Natalie Martinson finished 13th overall with a time of 23:31. Martinson said she accomplished her main goal for the race, which was to get a faster time than she did the last time she ran the Calvin Knight Classic.
“Looking at how I did at this meet last year, I am in a much better spot right now than I was a year ago.” Martinson said. “Across the board, all of my teammates ran much faster than they did last year at the Calvin invite. The first half mile was fun, because my teammates and I were able to pass a lot of people and slowly work our way to the front.”
The cross country team has had a successful start, both on and off the course. Freshman Kaitlyn Rust, an academic senior, said she has been enjoying her first season on the cross country team.
“I’ve been training with the cross country team since sophomore year, but only in preparation for my track season,” Rust said. “I knew it was a possibility of being on the cross country team someday but I didn’t really think it would happen. Now, I not only get to train everyday with my friends and teammates, but I actually get to compete with them right now, and see the fruits of my work alongside them.”
The runners hope to continue their successes at their next race, which will be Sept. 30 at Lansing Community College.
“Our next race will be more competitive than this last one, so hopefully that will push us to be better,” Martinson said.
