Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The women's cross country team continued their season with an impressive showing at the Seminole Valley Stampede. The event, which was hosted by Mount Mercy University,  was contested at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The Saints, who are ranked 22nd nationally, defeated both #11 St. Francis and #21 Mount Mercy en route to a second place team finish.

The Saints attack was paced by the one-two punch provided by Madison Rempalski and Amber Koole. Rempalski crossed the line in 22:24 to claim 3rd place, while Koole placed 4th in a time of 22:34.  Lauren Wooer would then lead a pack of four women finishing within :23 of each other to secure the second place team finish. Wooer placed 20th in a time of 23:24, while Mallory Bowker followed closely behind in 22nd place with a time of 23:32.  Cadence Schultz would round our the scoring for the Saints by running a 23:38 to finish 25th.

Assistant Coach Nick Thelen commented, "We knew going into this meet we could challenge both St. Francis and Mount Mercy to be the top NAIA team today.  The women were mentally ready and this was the most competitive I have seen this group.  We established ourselves up front early and were able to maintain our position throughout the race.  Madi continued her consistency as our lead runner and this was a breakout performance for Amber.  Our pack behind them worked very well together to secure our team place.  This group has made incredible strides in the last year to establish themselves as a nationally competitive team and we are gaining momentum at the right time."

Ella Koons and Claire Walton would complete the top seven for the Saints. Koons placed 30th with a time of 23:47, while Watlton ran a 24:23 to finish in 43rd place.

A total of 139 women competed this afternoon from 20 different institutions.

Aquinas will return to action next Saturday as they make the short trip to Muskegon to participate in the Jayhawk Invitational hosted by Muskegon Community College.