After logging three to five hundred miles on the road this summer and a solid month of practice, the Macalester Women’s Cross Country team had an impressive showing at the Luther Invitational last Saturday. Despite the loss of front-runner Caroline Barnes ’06 to mononucleosis, the Scots placed 5th out of 14 teams and scored 120 points, which surpassed last year’s 206-point 9th place finish. This marked improvement is a testament to the greater depth of this year’s team, which boasts 14 first-year runners.

Koby Hagen ’06 led the team, completing the five-kilometer course in 19:06 minutes and placing seventh in the field of 120 runners. Also in the top 25 were Renee Schaefer ’04 and Anna Gordon ’05, who finished in 20th and 25th place respectively and crossed the line in 19:37 and 19:41. Francie Streich ’06 also broke the 20-minute barrier with a 19:58, 33rd place finish, and Maureen Mullikin placed 39th at 20:06.

Encouragement from the numerous cross-country fans helped the Mac Runners. “It’s a good spectator course without a lot of turns,” Schaefer said.

The course was flat apart from one hill and had long straight-aways, which helped the women have strong finishes. “The finish was nice and flat, making it an excellent spot to kick,” Emily Stafford ’06 said.

Head Coach Jordan Cushing was impressed by the intensity shown by this year’s team, which she attributed to the large sophomore class. “The sophomores have brought a new sense of competitiveness to this team and have really set the tone this year,” she said. Coach Cushing also felt positive about seeing the time gap between the first and fifth runner drop from last year and having 13 runners finish in less than 21 minutes.

Right now, the team’s major concern is keeping its members healthy. Though the women’s team has been plagued by injuries in the past, Cushing has organized the training plan for the women on an individual basis. This year, runners more prone to injury will cross-train.

Cushing is optimistic about the effects the training change will have and is cautiously exited about the potential of this year’s team. Cushing will be taking 16 women to Grinnell this Saturday for the Les Duke pre-regionals meet. This meet offers the women an opportunity to preview the course for regionals, which is the qualifier meet for nationals in November.