The Belles finished in style this weekend, achieving several personal-best times in the Division III Great Lake Regionals at Voice of America Park Saturday.
Senior Becky Feauto led the Belles with a time of 24:00 for the six-kilometer course. That mark matched her goal going into the race and broke her personal record by 17 seconds in the event.
Belles coach Jackie Bauters said Feauto's accomplishment was impressive on its own but even more so because junior Sara Otto, Feauto's running partner for most of the year, didn't compete in the event.
"It was great for her," Bauters said. "That was her goal time, and she achieved it. She ran really well, and she ran really well without having Sara there, who she usually runs with. When you lose your running mate, it's kind of tough."
Five of Saint Mary's seven runners improved their 6K times from the MIAA Championship meet two weeks ago while three set personal records.
"I know we didn't place as a team as high as we had last year, but four of our five scorers ... were freshman," Bauters said.
Kelly Biedron and Alicen Miller led the underclassmen with times of 24:45 and 24:51, respectively.
Bauters said the stat lines might not reflect the duo's actual impact on the team.
"Miller had a standout performance," Bauters said.
Though the Belles finished No. 28 out of 31 schools in the meet, Bauters said they could take pride in their individual performances.
"Considering the situation, it was a great experience," she said. "To say the least, I'm not disappointed."
The first-year coach said she is also happy with the way the season went as a whole.
"I'm just really glad to be back at Saint Mary's," she said. "It was a wonderful season. I think the transition went really well."
"Being here wasn't hard at all."
Bauters said one of the difficulties in the beginning of the season was getting to know the freshmen, who were recruited by former head coach and current assistant coach Dave Barstis.
Highlighted by freshmen occupying four of seven places in the regional meet, Saint Mary's ran well all year, Bauters said.
"I didn't really know what to expect with the freshman ... because Dave [Barstis] recruited in the past," she said. "I'm really pleased with how the freshmen did."
Junior Katie White finished fourth for the Belles with a time of 24:55 Saturday. Freshmen Caitlin Stevenson and Grace Fey took fifth and sixth on the team, and senior Megan O'Neil placed seventh.
