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Ole women take fourth at Luther Invite

Emily Uzzell
September 16, 2002

The St. Olaf Women's Cross Country team competed at the Luther Invitational this past Saturday. Given an opportunity to race on a great day, with the temperatures pleasant and the course fast, the women began their quest to prove that even though they are young, they are tough competitors. The women finished both the varsity and junior varsity races in a strong fourth place.

St. Olaf's Megan Daymont (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) lead the team. Daymont finished second overall, and teammate Kezia Manlove (FY, Rapid City, SD) allowed Daymont to set her pace as she finished 17th overall. Running without junior Marit Grorud, the other remaining Oles increased their level of competitiveness to fill her gap. Meredith Fahrner (So., Urbana, IL) took 32cd place, with Lindsay Boetcher (FY, Eau Claire, Wisc.) and Erin Bengtson (FY, Flower Mound, TX) finishing 36th and 37th, respectively. Rounding out the top 7 Oles were Kari Koos (FY, Leavenworth, Wash.) and Rachel Pederson (Sr., Sioux Falls, SD) in 53rd and 57th places. The varsity women finished in 4th place to UW-LaCrosse, Wartburg, Carleton (112 points), and St. Olaf (124 points).

In the Junior Varsity race, the Oles also finished in 4th place to UW-LaCrosse, Macalaster, and Augustana College. Erica Clausen (Jr., Wheaton, Il) and Larissa Nordstrom (FY, West Des Moines, Iowa) lead the team and finished in 19th and 21st places. The other Oles all ran incredibly strong and tough, and many of the women continued to improve their personal best times--even early in the season.

The St. Olaf teams will be at home this next weekend, hosting the St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday, September 21st. The women's race begins at 12:00 noon. This will be the first time that the women's 6K race will be held at St. Olaf, so watch for the team to set course records. This meet is also one of the first meets to be held at St. Olaf College, as St. Olaf is host for the NCAA National Division III Cross Country meet on November 23rd. Look for the remaining meets in the season to continue to build excitement and experience of the runners as they begin to run on their home course.

Contact Le Ann Finger at 507-786-3315 or finger@stolaf.edu.