Cross Country

WINNECONNE, Wis. – The Mount Mary Cross Country team finished its season off at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional competition Saturday, finishing 40th out of 43 colleges. The event, hosted at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis., by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, provided the Blue Angel harriers a great challenge while running among some of the best teams in the region.

"We were able to observe the well-established teams at their best," head coach Eugene Miranda said. "Even though Division III schools do not offer scholarships, the dedication of the athletes to their sport is not lacking. Many of the top runners from Division III schools could easily win scholarships for cross-country and track at Division I schools."

Leading Mount Mary Saturday was junior Vanessa Schellinger (West Bend, Wis.), whose time of 26:28.74 placed her 211th overall and 207th in scoring position. Junior Laura Bavlnka (Wauwatosa, Wis.) and freshman Danielle Sherrer (Milwaukee, Wis.) each crossed just under the 30-minute mark for the 6-kilometer race, with freshman Mollee Ostrenga (Escanaba, Mich.) and junior Kala Sanders (Milwaukee, Wis.) rounding out the five-woman squad.

"Yesterday, we had exactly five runners and our five runners did their best," head coach Eugene Miranda said. "Vanessa, Mollee and Kala set personal best times for the year and Danielle and Laura were just a bit off of their season best times. Congratulations to all of our runners for putting forward a great effort as a team."

Noticeably absent from the starting box was team-leader and junior Emily Barker (Oconomowoc, Wis.), who along with junior Lauren Van Krey (Horicon, Wis.), was out with injuries. Freshman Michaela Peterson (Burlington, Wis.) was also forced to miss due to previous Caroline Scholars commitments.

Despite having the bare minimum racers to qualify for a team score, Miranda is confident his program will continue to flourish—especially with no seniors on this year's team.

"I am confident that we can improve substantially next season," Miranda said. "This will take a higher level of commitment on the part of our runners. I would like to challenge all of our runners to stay motivated by keeping up the running mileage throughout the year."