The Bluejays were led by Christina Addison, who finished in second place with a time of 21:20. Behind Addison, was Jera Teselle (7th, 22:54), Kelli Kopper, (9th, 23:00), Carrie Schroeder (12th 23:44) and Leah Kopper (15th, 24:03). All earned medals.
Tabor was again without top runner Liz Kleinsasser who should be back in uniform for next Saturday’s race.
?The women made a huge step toward racing today,? Hunt added. ?Kelli, Carrie, and Leah had big races and all earned their first college medals. We were able to push through some tough running conditions.?
A total of 55 runners competed Saturday: 28 women, 27 men. The Tabor men also placed second out of five teams despite lacking the services of number one runner Zac Rembolt, who sat out the race because of illness. Even without Rembolt, Tabor had four top-10 finishers.
Sophomore Zach Gould led the way for the Bluejays finishing in third place at 29:53, while Justin Ball finished in ninth place at 31:38. Hunt said both runners stepped up in Remboldt’s absence.
“Gould ran an outstanding race today and Ball is starting to be competitive coming back from an injury,” she said.
Dan Sigley (8th, 31:23) and Ric Johnson (10th, 31:46) both turned in steady performances. Dustin Burnett (20th, 36:10) ran his first 8-kilometer race of the season.
“It’s been a tough season for the men’s team this year,” Hunt said. “It seems we can only get five healthy guys for each race. With only five runners, the pressure is always on.”
Coming?The Bluejays will travel to Hastings, Neb. to compete in the Hastings College Cross Country Invitational Saturday at Elks Country Club.
