The Dordt University women's cross country team delivered a strong performance at the Briar Cliff Invitational today, finishing third overall in a competitive field at the Adams Nature Preserve.
Led by freshman
Joy Koole, who crossed the line in
10th place with a time of
22:01.71, the 9th-ranked Defenders placed six runners in the top 22 to secure a team score of
69 points, trailing only NCAA Division I programs University of South Dakota (25 points) and Creighton (42 points).
Senior
Jessica Opfer followed closely behind Koole, finishing
11th in
22:32.45, while freshman
Addy Liston (14th, 22:39.48), sophomore
Corinne Braun (16th, 22:41.34), and senior
Molly Hulstein (18th, 22:49.00) rounded out Dordt's scoring five.
Freshman
Elyse Zwart (22nd, 23:04.82) and freshman
Macy Marshall (34th, 24:00.77) also contributed solid performances, helping the Defenders achieve an average team time of
22:32.80.
- "The ladies team ran a strong race," said Dordt University Head Coach Nate Wolf. "Joy Koole ran a fast last 1,000m to lead the women and earn a top 10 finish in a competitive field. Similarly, Jessica Opfer moved very well the last half of the race to provide support to Joy's finish. Freshmen Addy Liston, Elyse Zwart, and Macy Marshall had strong first races at the 6,000m distance, and finish in scoring position within the women's team. This is great experience for these younger runners in our program. They stepped up and raced very well today."
By the Numbers:
- a total of 111 runners and seven complete teams competed in today's race
- 28 Defenders competed
- Dordt's 1-5 split was 48 seconds
- 1-7 split was 1:59
Defender Notes:
- the Defenders had all five of its counters finish in the top 20
- Dordt has finished among the top five teams in all three meets this season
- Dordt was the top NAIA finisher
- five Defenders ran personal-bests:
- this was the second top 10 finish for Koole this season
- Koole was the second GPAC runner to finish, trailing only Keeli Green (Concordia) by 1.4 seconds
- this was the second top 25 finish for Opfer this season; the 12th of her career
- both Liston and Zwart have two top 25 finishes this season
- Braun, competing for the first time this season, turned in her sixth top 25 finish
- Hulstein has a pair of top 25 finishes this season; 13 for her career
- this was the first 6K race for all the Defender freshmen
Up Next:
- Dordt will host its second meet of the season, the Holiday Inn Express Classic, next weekend (Oct.11)
