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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

SMC Cross Country: Belles end year at regionals

The Belles closed out their season with a fourteenth place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet on Saturday.
Saint Mary's claimed 14th place out of 39 teams with a team score of 419. The Belles' 14th place finish is the team's best appearance at the NCAA Regional in the program's history.
No. 5 Calvin hosted and won the meet with an overall score of 54.
Senior Jessica Biek paved the way for the Belles with a 23rd place finish out of more than 240 runners. She ran a personal record time of 22:35.8, just one tenth of a second short from taking 22nd place.
Biek's top-25 time earned her All-Region honors. Biek is the first Belles runner to earn the distinction since Julia Kenney did so in 2010.
Right behind Biek was freshman Brittany Beeler. Beeler claimed 47th place with a time of 23:08.2, matching the pace of her MIAA Championship run time.
Crossing the finish line within a few seconds of one another, Junior Samee Chittenden and sophomore Katelyn Dunn took 112th and 114th place, respectively. Chittenden ran a personal record time of 24:23.2 and Dunn finished with a time of 24:27.9.
Junior Erin Knauf, senior Colette Curtis and freshman Kaitlyn Alessi closed out the competition for the Belles. Knauf concluded the overall team score with a 24:45.7 time for 127th place. Curtis finished 132nd with a time of 24:57.6, while Alessi ended with a 25:28.2 time to take 151st.