Saint Mary's finished sixth in a field of nine teams at the MIAA Jamboree this weekend.
A group that included two ranked opponents in No. 8 Calvin and No. 17 Hope edged the host Belles from the top spots. Filling in the third through fifth slots were Alma, Albion and Adrian, respectively. Belles senior Angela Nebesney said her team was proud of their performance in the 6k race and happy to be running on their home course.
"We went into the meet feeling very excited to be able to race on our home course and finally be able to have students to be able to make it to our race to support us," she said. "We did perform as expected and finished better as a team this year than last year with some new personal records."
Junior Jessica Biek led the way for Saint Mary's with a time of 23:19, good for 19th overall. Nebesney finished second for the Belles and turned in a time of 24:46, just six seconds shy of a new personal record. Finishing third was senior Elizabeth Majewski, who gave a personal-best effort, at a time of 24:47 for 53rd place overall. The entire team finished close with each other, with nobody finishing slower than 28:55. Nebesney said it was good for the team to run as a group.
"This meet we ran as a group throughout the race, which we will continue to do because it allows us to push and help each other," she said.
Moving forward, Nebesney said it is motivational for Saint Mary's to be facing ranked opponents.
"[When we compete against ranked teams], we remain focused and prepared to reach our goals, and we use the ranked opponents to push us towards our goals," she said.
The Belles will look to Biek, Nebesney and Majewski to continue to pace the team when they head to the Pre-National in Terre Haute, Ind., for their next race. This year's installment of the Pre-National will fall on Oct. 6, and the race will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Contact Laura Coletti at lcoletti@nd.edu
