NORTHFIELD, Minn. – On the first Friday of September, the Yellowjacket women's cross country team opened its 2024 season at a meet co-hosted by Saint John's University and the College of St. Benedict.
That event took place on a five-kilometer course, while Saturday, the Yellowjackets and the rest of the field returned to the more familiar six-kilometer venue, at the St. Olaf College Invitational. Saturday offered a strong field, and even stronger weather, as competitors were forced to run in extremely warm temperatures, which some might consider unseasonable for the middle of September.
Despite the weather, the Yellowjackets turned in a strong performance, placing 13th with a team total of 386 points.
Just as she did two weeks ago,
Simone Stephens (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) led the Yellowjackets Saturday. Competing in her first-ever six-kilometer race at the collegiate level, Stephens, a native of Arizona who is undaunted by heat, was the first Yellowjacket to cross the finish line, coming in with a time of 24:41.30. The time put Stephens in 41st place.
Behind Stephens was
Tea Boerner (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna). The senior finished the course with a time of 25:53.9, which put her in 66th place.
Meet Notes
- UWS was the top finishing school among Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schools competing Saturday. The next closest school was Crown, who placed 15th with 442 points. They were 11th among NCAA Division III schools.
- Cora Hudella (North Branch, Minn./North Branch Area), the defending UMAC Champion, placed 71st Saturday with a time of 26:04.90.
- Lilley Smith (Ironwood, Mich./Ironwood), who finished with a time of 26:37.1, placed 88th.
- In addition to Stephens, Scarlett Vanderscheuren (Saginaw, Minn./South Ridge), Kayela Putnam (Stephenson, Mich./Stephenson) and Isabel Molina (Solon Springs, Wis./Solon Springs) all had personal records.
- Stephens ran the second-best time in program history for a runner competing in a six-kilometer race for the first time. She also nearly missed breaking into the all-time top ten, with her time putting her 12th on the program's leaderboard.
- Carleton College won the battle of the Northfield-based schools Saturday, taking home the team title with 35 points. The Knights were 19 points better than their crosstown rivals, St. Olaf. They were the only two teams to score less than 100 points Saturday.
- UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout and Gustavus Adolphus, respectively, rounded out the top five.
- Individually, Carleton's Hannah Preisser won the invitational, coming in with a time of 21:57.8, putting her eight seconds ahead of teammate Sophie McManus.
- Carleton and St. Olaf occupied the top five slots in the race.
The Yellowjackets are now off for a week and will be back in action Friday, Oct. 4 when they travel to the Blugold Invite, hosted by UW-Eau Claire. The race is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wis.
