SOMERS, Wis. – Mount Mary College head Cross Country coach Eugene Miranda received some discouraging news before Saturday's race at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Midwest Open that a pair of key runners would not be making the trip to rural Racine.

Yet facing a very difficult course and a field ripe with Division I and Division II competition, Miranda was quickly impressed with the Blue Angels' 15th-place finish. Though only five Blue Angels made the trip—the minimum amount to qualify as a complete team—every one of them achieved personal record times at Saturday's Open.

"If you compare Saturday's results to last week's results, you may understand why my dejection turned to elation," Miranda said. "Every single one of our runners did much better than last week. To emphasize their improvement, I need to stress that today's course was more challenging than last week's.

"The huge improvement that was made in only a week is due to the dedication and determination of our runners."

Junior Emily Barker (Oconomowoc, Wis.) led the way again for Mount Mary, reaching a personal best time 20:09.5 for the 5K course. Senior Lauren VanKrey (Mayville, Wis.) took nearly a minute and a half off last week's time, while the other three runners took off between 34 and 65 seconds from last week's race at St. Norbert.

Mount Mary, with the return of Shantae Chapman and Laura Bavlnka, who missed Saturday's race, will look to continue improving personal times next Saturday in nearby Mequon, Wis. for the race hosted by Concordia Univeristy-Wisconsin.