The women’s cross country team started their mid-semester break in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the MT Mercy Mustang Jamboree on Friday, October 24. The team put on a good showing in their last regular season meet before the conference championship. They were able to snag a fourth-place finish, putting up 111 points.
The V-Hawks seem to have a strong young group as they were led by freshman Vanessa Thomas from Madison, Wisconsin. She posted her career-best time of 20:19.2. Sophomore Madelyn Adams from Fennimore, Wisconsin, continues a strong season as she was not far behind Thomas finishing three minutes after with a time of 20:35.3. Just one minute later Freshman Ellie Nygren from Waterville, Minnesota, came finished to post her career-high of 20:36.7. The top three finishes for the V-Hawks put up 56 points in total.
The V-hawks are starting to come into form just in time for the championships. All the women on the V-Hawks team were able to come away with season-best despite the shortened season. They have recruited a strong freshman class to add to an already impressive returning class, and that was put on display this week.
Looking forward to the conference championships, the V-hawks are looking like strong contenders to take home the North Star conference championship this year. They have built a good core with two national qualifiers returning this year; Madelyn Adams and sophmore, Sophie Leinfelder. While they look to punch a ticket back to the national championships, teammates Lauren Herzog and Brenna Mcdonough are looking to make it to the national race for the first time. A couple of freshmen, Vanessa Thomas and Ellie Nygren, are looking to make some noise in their first conference meet, and are looking strong enough to make a case for nationals.
If these two were to make it to nationals, this would be the second time two first-years were to qualify for nationals. The first time was last year with Leinfelder and Adams. The V-hawks are going into the championships with high hopes, even with the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused. The conference championship on November 6 should be an intense race.
