The Belles took 12th place at the Pre-National race hosted by Hanover College on Saturday in Hanover, Ind.
After a solid fourth-place finish last week at the MIAA Jamboree, the Belles claimed 12th place in a field of 18 teams Saturday with a team score of 306. Trinity University (Texas) won the race and Lewis University took second place with team scores of 44 and 73, respectively.
Saint Mary's coach Jackie Bauters said it was a very competitive environment for the Belles.
"It was a very competitive field this weekend full of highly-ranked regional and national teams," Bauters said. "We worked the team hard this week and I was happy to see how well they ran despite it."
Belles senior Jessica Biek led the squad this weekend. Biek finished 28th overall with a time of 23:38.79. Freshman Brittany Beeler was the second Saint Mary's runner to finish. Beeler took 53rd overall with a time of 24:13.65.
Bauters said she thought the team did very well overall despite a few runners who did not run their best.
"A few ladies had off days which impacted our overall performance but nothing that won't be remedied for our next race," Bauters said.
One member of the Belles squad who did not have an off-day performance was sophomore Katelyn Dunn. Dunn finished the race with a personal-best time of 25:02.37 and claimed 88th place for 77 points.
Bauters said Dunn's strong performance was a crucial contribution to the team's overall score.
"Katelyn really helped finish out our scoring," Bauters said.
Sophomore Allie Danhof finished ahead of Dunn with a time of 24:40.78 to earn 69th place and 62 points. Junior Samee Chittenden ran a 25:21.03 right behind Dunn to finish 107th overall.
Freshman Kathryn Marshall finished after Chittenden with a time of 25:34.23 to finish 116th and fellow freshman Kaitlyn Alessi crossed the finish line a little less than 30 seconds later with a time of 26:00.73 to finish 128th.
Junior Emily Getz, senior Colette Curtis, and freshman Colleen Ogren finished close to each other in a pack. Getz ran a 26:37.55 for 159th place, Curtis ran a 26:38.20 for 160tth place, and Ogren took 163rd with a time of 26:40.85.
Freshman Maggie Pacana, senior Sarah Thompson, and sophomore Holly Higdon wrapped up the race for the Belles. Pacana finished 185th with a time of 27:26.39, and Thompson finished 191st with a 27:42.47. Higdon ran a 28:10.92 to claim 199th.
After performing well and finishing ahead of 14th-place Manchester, Bauters said the team is looking forward to competing next at the Manchester Invitational on Oct. 19.
"We are excited for Manchester in two weeks," Bauters said. "We just came off beating Manchester this weekend and will look forward to some fast times."
Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu
