In its season opener Saturday, Saint Mary’s placed second out of three teams at the Wabash Hokum Karem in Crawfordsville, Ind.
A hokum karem is a combination of a relay race and a standard cross-country race where two runners alternate running legs of a six-mile race. The first three pairs for each team count towards the overall score, with each subsequent pair competing individually.
DePauw took the first three spots in the race before the Belles got their first pair of runners across as sophomore Brittany Beeler and freshman Reilly Pieri crossed the line with a time of 36:54.6. The Belles got their other scoring pairings across the finish line in 10th and 11th — freshmen Natalie Hawkes and Caitlin Blum posted a time of 38:26.1, while juniors Allie Danhof and Katelyn Dunn finished in 38:34.9, but they counted as fifth and sixth in the team standings because every pair in front of them competed as individuals.
Other pairings for the Belles were sophomores Kaitlyn Alessi and Kathryn Marshall (38:55.4), seniors Samee Chittenden and Erin Knauf (39:12.9), freshmen Alyssa Furman and Anna McClowry (40:39.3), sophomore Colleen Ogren and junior Colleen Burke (41:32.8) and freshman Anna Riddle and Maggie Pacana (41:50.8).
Danville Area also attended the meet, although the squad failed to record a team score with only two pairs racing. The meet was hosted by the all-male Wabash University in Crawfordsville, Ind. The Little Giants took home the victory in the men’s race, sweeping the top three spots.
The Belles have this weekend off before returning to action on Sept. 13 at the Calvin Knight Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mich. Race time is scheduled for 10:45 a.m.
