The Saint Mary's cross country team came out in full force on Friday and took it to the 25-team field of the 5,000-meter Benedictine University Eagle Invitational.
Six Belles runners finished in the top 50 as Saint Mary's placed fourth overall and proved its improvement since the season's opener at the Heidelberg Invitational in Ohio.
Senior Jackie Bauters led the way for the Belles for the fifth time in six meets, posting a time of 19:52 and finishing 17th overall.
The finish was the second highest of Bauters' final season, the best finish coming in the first meet when she came in 13th.
Heidi Saunders of Goshen College was the overall winner with a time of 19:18.9.
Only Northern Illinois (27), Goshen (79) and St. Joseph's (118) placed higher than the Belles.
Saint Mary's freshmen Sara Otto (20:06.8) and Erin Nolan (20:06.8), junior Elizabeth Commers (20:28.5), freshman Katie White (20:39.3) and sophomore Becky Feauto (20:46.0) functioned as more than just a supporting cast to Bauters' strong finish.
Saint Mary's narrowed the time difference between its first runner (Bauters) and fifth runner (White) to 49 seconds. This statistic is an accurate measure of the success or failure of a team. With all runners healthy and clicking, the Belles seem primed to take this momentum and use it to their advantage in the MIAA Championships Nov. 1 at Albion College.
