The Wildcat cross country squad turned in one of their best performances in over a decade at the regional championship Saturday in Waverly, Iowa.  The team scored 488 points for 18th place, their best at the regional meet since 1998.  With Wartburg College hosting the event for the second year in a row, the Wildcats dropped over 150 points off last year's total and had their top four runners all finish faster than last year's second place Wildcat runner. 

Kristina Poss was the top finisher on the day, running a new PR of 24:04 to claim 68th place.  Ashlee Bahlmann and Jessica Rogers finished side by side in 24:41, and Sophie Shogren was just behind in 24:46, one of the tightest finishing packs for the team this season.  Stephanie Mueller was fifth for the team in 25:10, Sarah Howe ran 25:41, and Heidi Sande finished in 25:53. 

After a slightly slower start to the race, the Wildcats showed their racing ability by continuing to move up and pass their competitors.  Both Bahlmann and Shogren passed numerous runners in the last half mile to help the Wildcats secure that 18th place finish.  With only Sande graduating, the young squad will have plenty of experience at the championship level returning next season and will look to build upon this years success. 

The race was won by UM Morris junior Linda Keller in 21:44.  Wartburg claimed the team crown with 63 points, ahead of runner up Carleton with 85.  The top two teams automatically move on to next weeks NCAA championships. 

Women's Results