Lexi Mitzel placed 18th overall at the meet for the Warriors. (Photo Credit: Steve Boekenoogan)
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Corban University women’s cross country team ran away with an impressive 13th-place finish out of 32 teams at the NAIA Preview Meet in Lawrence, Kan. on Saturday morning. Seven runners competed for Corban on the women’s side, while senior Justin Holden (Olympia, Wash.) was the only member of the men’s team to compete and did not finish.
“We had a very solid effort, and feel we can get better,” said head cross country coach Norm Berney. “We need to close the gap between one and five, but we keep getting better each week.”
As a team, the Warriors finished with an overall time of 1:39:57.40, a mere five-tenths of a second ahead of No. 20 Cornerstone University (Mich.). Corban also finished in front of three teams who are receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches’ Top-25 Poll, including William Woods University (Mo.), Concordia University (Neb.), and Marian University (Ind.).
“We beat a Top-25 team and some others who received votes, so we feel very good about the weekend,” commented Berney.
The Navy and Gold was led by junior Lexi Mitzel (Salem, Ore.), as she finished in 18th place overall and completed the challenging Rim Rock Farms course with a time of 19:04.80. She crossed the finish line just over one minute and 18 seconds behind race-winner Hannah Fields of Oklahoma Baptist.
Also finishing in the top 50 was senior Emily Childers (Milton-Freewater, Ore.), as she took 43rd place with a time of 19:32.10. Her teammate, senior Olivia Johnson Shockley (Sweet Home, Ore.), finished in third for Corban and 89th overall with a time of 20:13.60.
Not far behind Shockley was sophomore Elizabeth Weber (Lacey, Wash.), who finished 98th overall with a mark of 20:23.00. Rounding out the scorers for the Warriors was sophomore April Soelberg (Yakima, Wash.), as she was the 130th runner to cross the finish line with a time of 20:43.90.
Two other runners competed for the Navy and Gold, including freshman Kristen LaChapelle (Turner, Ore.). She finished in 148th place with a time 21:00.10. Corban’s final runner, freshman Kristina Yzaguirre (Mount Vernon, Wash.) crossed the finish line in a time of 21:35.90 for 192nd overall.
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will return to competition on Oct. 18 to compete in the Lewis & Clark Invite in Estacada, Ore. at 10 a.m.