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 15th nationally, defeated #18 Kansas Wesleyan en route to a first place team finish. The performance established the fastest team time in school history for a 6,000 meter race (22:48 average).
The Saints attack was paced by the one-two punch provided by
Madison Rempalski and
Amber Koole. Rempalski crossed the line in 21:53 to claim second place, while Koole placed fourth in a time of 22:11.
Ella Koons would then finish in 22:27 to claim 12th place in the race.
Lauren Wooer (20th place - 23:25) and
Carolyn Bennett (25th - 23:33) would round out the scoring positions for the Saints.
Assistant Coach
Nick Thelen commented, "We knew this meet would be close with Kansas Wesleyan and so it feels great to come home with a team championship. Our first three runners ran tough in the second half of the race to put us in position to win. We showed some good depth today with our 4-7 runners to secure the places we needed to win. This was our best team performance so far this season, but we still think we can work on solidifying a few areas to be even better in the coming meets."
Anna Tubbergen and
Cadence Schultz would complete the top seven for the Saints. Tubbergan placed 30th with a time of 23:39, while Schultz ran a 24:17 to finish in 46th place.
Lauren Wooer added, "I couldn't be more proud of our resilient team. Every one expressed their personal challenges during the race but it's clear that the love we have as such a close knit team was the foundation of our inner strength. I am proud and excited that we keep moving forward and improving and I know everyone has so much more room to go."
A total of 171 women competed this afternoon from 17 different institutions.
Aquinas will return to action in three weeks when the Saints host the annual NAIA Great Lakes Challenge at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids.
