Cross Country

SOMERS, Wis. – Mount Mary University was one of the smallest schools participating in the Lucian Rosa Cross Country Invitational Saturday on the campus of UW-Parkside, but the Blue Angels showed some of the biggest heart as it managed a 20th place finish out of 25 teams.

Running in their final 5-kilometer race of the year, all of Mount Mary's runners improved on their personal best times for this season.

"What a difference a week can make in weather and in performance," head coach Eugene Miranda said. "Today will go down in the annals of Mount Mary Cross Country history as the first race in which every runner improved on her 5K time."

The race itself featured 14 NCAA Division I and Division II programs racing alongside MMU, and while several of the top finishing teams came from the Big Ten, Big East and Horizon League Conferences, the Blue Angels actually finished fifth among comparable Division III and NAIA competitors.

Senior Emily Barker (Oconomowoc, Wis.) paced the Angels with her season-best 5K time, coming in at 19:44.0 for 91st place overall. Freshman Natalie Guyette (Shiocton, Wis.) crossed at 22:10.4 for 131st place, and classmate Hayley Hove (Golden Valley, Minn.) was right behind her with a time of 22:55.3.

"Emily set a new school record by going below 20 minutes for the first time in a 5K race," Miranda said. "She improved by 56 seconds compared to her finish at St. Norbert. Natalie and Hayley have secured their positions as the third and fourth best runners in Mount Mary history as well."

Freshman Grace Rock (Kouts, Ind.) posted her personal record time in a 5K meet with a mark of 28:06.9.

That sub-30-minute time lopped off an impressive 2 minutes and 25 seconds from her previous personal record, all coming after Rock returned to campus around 2:00 am after playing two matches in the MMU volleyball's Friday triangular.

The Blue Angels are back in action Saturday at the Wisconsin Private College Championships, hosted by Concordia-Wisconsin in Mequon. Start time is slated for 11 am.