Saint Mary's will get a little taste of competition on the national level when it travels to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday to run in the Gibson Family Pre-National Meet.
The Belles last competed Sept. 21, when they finished sixth in a field of nine teams at the MIAA Jamboree on their home course. Junior Jessica Biek continued her strong string of performances, as she led the way for the Belles with a 19th place finish in a time of 23:19 on the 6-kilometer (6K) course.
Seniors Angela Nebesny and Elizabeth Majewski rounded out the top three for Saint Mary's in the last Jamboree, with Nebesny finishing 51st and Majewski finishing 53rd in a personal-best time of 24:47.
Majewski said her strong performance resulted from the hard work she has put in at practice thus far.
"I have come to practice mentally prepared and ready to work my hardest," Majewski said. "I try to take this attitude to the course each race day. My team has also been a great factor in my success. Without them, my success would not be possible."
Majewski said Saint Mary's spent its weekend off from competition undergoing specialized training designed to prepare for its upcoming competitions.
"We really utilized the week's training to prepare mentally for race day during our workouts and longer mileage runs," she said.
The Belles will look to take their training into a field of tough competitors at the Gibson Family Pre-National Meet, which features Division II, Division III and NAIA teams from all over the country. The meet is intended to act as a preview for the Division III National Cross Country Championships, which takes place on Nov. 17, also in Terre Haute.
Majewski said she expects to see further improvements in the team's 6-K times when the Belles takes to the course this weekend.
"I believe that we will all run very strong races," Majewski said. "Our training these past two weeks has greatly prepared us for the potential of improved 6-K times."
Although the Belles will face a field of top Division III competitors Saturday, Majewski said the competition would serve to benefit the team's performances and would act as good preparation for important upcoming meets, including the MIAA championships Oct. 27.
"These teams will push us to run fast races and hopefully shave off the seconds needed to run very competitive races at our final races of the season," Majewski said.
Saint Mary's will compete in the Gibson Family Pre-National Meet on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
Contact Brian Hartnett at bhartnet@nd.edu
