KENOSHA, Wisc. - It was 20 degrees, with a light breeze in Kenosha, Wisconsin today at the NAIA National Championships, and it didn't affect senior Marcella, Bosch.
Bosch has made it to the National Championships all four years of her Eastern career. As a freshman she finished 173rd, as a sophomore she finished 73rd, as a junior she finished 42nd, and this year she continued to improve to 15th out of 327. Bosch missed the school record by 2 seconds, but surpassed her lifetime best by 15 seconds, running a 17:49 today in the 5K run. She received All-American recognition. (The top 30 men and women receive these honors.) Cross Country coach Ben Welch noted on Bosch's performance, "She ran an amazing and very complete race; she never backed off."
Also running at Nationals for the women EOU cross team was teammate Christine Eckstein running a 19:10 and finished 119th out of 327 runners.
Zach Heath ran well for the Mountie men's cross team. He finished 121st out of 331 total contestants. Heath finished with a time of 26:16 in the 8K race. Also representing the Mountaineer men's cross team was Cam Starner. Starner has had a great season for the Mountaineers continually finishing on the top; however, due to fighting a cold all week he struggled to perform to his potential. Starner finished 197th with a time 26:56.
The Mountie cross team had a great season and will be looking forward to another great season next year. EOU athletics is proud of Marcella Bosch, Christine Eckstein, Zach Heath, and Cam Starner for their strong performance and finish at the NAIA National Championships.