The women's cross country team had not won a meet in years. They had never before beaten rival St. Olaf. That all changed last weekend when on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon, the Scots made a bold statement by capturing top honors at the St. Olaf Invitational.

It was an exciting day for the women and Jordan Cushing, their coach. “They were running like they wanted it, and you can't coach that,” Cushing said,“It was thrilling to watch.”

Koby Hagen ‘06, coming off an injury, picked up where she left off last year to lead the Scots. She took fourth place overall by finishing the 6,000 meter course in 23:59. She was joined by three teammates in the top 15 as Alli Woerpel ‘05, Anna Gordan ‘06, and Francie Streich ‘06 all had great races. Emily Stafford ‘06 rounded out the top five, placing 28th overall.

With 68 points, hosts St. Olaf finished just a single point behind the Macalester squad. The results could have been the reverse had Hagen not edged out St. Olaf's top finisher by a single step at the finish.

“St. Olaf is a fantastic program, and they are great competitors. They'll put it together for conference and we shouldn't take anything for granted,” Cushing said.

The Macalester Women's program was at its peak a few years ago before settling back into the middle of the MIAC. The win could give the Scots a confidence they have not had in years. St. Olaf routinely dominates the MIAC in women's cross country and has won 8 of the last 11 championships.

This year, the team has changed its training regimen somewhat, and the results seem to be speaking for themselves. More mileage in the summer months and more individual training have led to strong early-season showings. The team hopes to use its upcoming two weeks off to heal and just keep on getting better.

For co-captain Joan Bennett ‘05, it had been a goal all along to beat St. Olaf, and to finally do so was thrilling. Woerpel echoed Bennett's thoughts, “We were really surprised, they tried to build the suspense— saying it was the closest finish ever and then they announced St. Olaf got second and we knew we had won,” she said, “It was exciting.”