The No.1 Dordt University women's cross country team won both team titles and took home a pair of individual championships as well from the Holiday Inn Express Classic held today on the Defenders home course.
The top-ranked Defenders ran away with the team title in both the Gold and Black Division races. Dordt totaled 25 points and placed all five scorers in the top 15 to win the Gold Division title, 64 points in front of 10th-ranked Benedictine (Kan.) who finished a distant second.
College of Saint Mary (Neb.), a team receiving votes in the national poll, placed third while South Dakota Mines, an NCAA D-II program, finished fourth. Another GPAC team, 15th-ranked Doane, rounded out the top five with 133 points.
Individually, the Defenders finished 1-3 as
Joy Koole,
Addy Liston and
Bailey VanderGriend worked together throughout the race and claimed the top three spots. Koole earned her second win of the season, third for her career, with a 6K time of 21:51, followed by Liston, who finished less than two seconds in back of her teammate (21:53). VanderGriend placed third with a time of 22:17, the highest finish of her career and third in the top 15.
A fourth Dordt runner,
Addy Crow, finished among the top 10 as well, placing a season-best eighth with a time of 22:41.
Hannah Thong completed the Defenders scoring line-up with an 11th place finish and a time of 22:45. Three more Defenders,
Isabella Webb (13th - 22:52),
Katie Young (18th - 23:02) and
Elyse Zwart (20th - 23:04) placed in the top 20 while
Natalie Smith (27th - 23:19) and
Jeni Burtis (30th - 23:27) finished out the Defenders squad.
The Defenders also claimed the team and individual titles in the Black Division race, turning in a perfect score (15pts) and owning the top eight spots and nine of the top 10. Kyrin DeGroot moved to the front of the pack over the final 1000m to win her first collegiate race, crossing the finish line in 23:29.
Raegan Snieder turned in her best career finish, placing second with a time of 23:39, followed by
Macy Marshall (3rd - 23:43),
Norah Kostelyk (4th - 23:45) and
Olivia Hoogland (5th - 23:52). All five Defenders recorded their best career finish and were separated by 23 seconds.
"It was a strong performance on a tough day of racing. In both divisions of racing, the women's team stepped up and ran well. In the Gold Division Race, Joy, Addison, and Bailey did a great job again at the front. Addy Crow had her best race this season and filled in for a strong #4. We want to continue to close down the 1-5 gap, and I believe there is positive momentum for the women's pack to draw that gap down. In the Black Division Race, Norah Kostelyk ran a strong middle of the race, providing momentum for the women's pack as they pressed through the hot and windy weather. Kyrin Degroot raced very well over the last kilometer, as did Raegan Snieder and Macy Marshall. It was fun to see Dordt be able to win both divisions of the meet," commented Dordt University Head Coach Nate Wolf.
By the Numbers:
- 13 teams, 118 runners competed in the Gold Divsion
- 6 teams, 84 runners competed in the Black Division
- Dordt's 1-5 split, Gold Division: 54 seconds; 1-7 split: 1:11
- Dordt's 1-5 split, Black Division: 24 seconds; 1-7 split: 55 seconds
- 38 Defenders ran in the two races
Notes:
