The Belles placed 22nd this weekend in a highly competitive field of 30 teams at the Rose-Hulman Gibson Family Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
No. 3 Johns Hopkins won the event with a team score of 52, followed by No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Olivet Nazarene rounded out the top three teams with a score of 108. The Belles finished with a score of 578.
Junior Jessica Biek led the way for the Belles with a time of 24:22.0 for a finish of 105th overall in a field of over 320 runners. Seniors Emma Baker and Elizabeth Majewski finished within a few seconds of each other and good for second and third overall for Saint Mary's with times of 24:47.4 and 24:49.6, respectively.
The shift in weather has presented little change in the way the Belles prepare for their races. Senior Angela Nebesny said that some of the runners even prefer when the temperatures get cooler.
"We need to dress warmer, but the training basically remains the same," Nebesny said. "I actually find it easier to race in the cold than in the heat."
The Belles ran in a field of six of the top 30 NCAA Division III programs this weekend, while several other teams participating were regionally ranked. Nebesny said racing against ranked opponents pushes the Belles to perform better in future meets.
"We will remain focused and prepared to reach our goals and use the ranked opponents to push us towards our goals," she said.
The Belles will be going up against some more tough competition in future meets. Belles coach Jackie Bauters said her squad is anxious to finish well in conference competition.
"The team has their eyes set on breaking back into the top half of the conference after a disappointing team finish in the conference last season," Bauters said.
The Belles will return to action Oct. 13 when they participate in the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.
Contact Laura Coletti at lcoletti@nd.edu
