LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Trine women's cross country team placed 15th in the 2016 Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic, held Saturday at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park.
Despite missing a runner, the performances of Thunder runners combined to earn the team 435 points in a field of 39 NCAA Division III teams. Trine competed in the Silver Division, which served as a pre-nationals meet for Division III competitors in one of the largest cross country races in the nation. The women's cross country race was made up of a 6K course, on which Thunder runners averaged a time of 24:04.75.
Leading the pack of Trine runners were Kelsey Ortiz (Swanton, Ohio / Anthony Wayne) and Kyla Binfet (West Yellowstone, Mont. / West Yellowsone), who finished less than one second apart. Ortiz crossed the finish line in 23:11.86, good for 48th place and 46 points overall. The senior's performance enabled her to set a career-best 6K time for the second consecutive week.
Binfet finished with a time of 23:12.37 was a career-best time in the 6K. The junior placed 51st overall and earned 49 points with her performance.
Samantha Stensland (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeasten) finished 100th overall with a time of 24:07.92. Her performanced earned 90 points for Trine. Hanna Blystone (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) followed with a time of 24:37.16, placing 131st and earning 109 points.
Heather Richardson (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) rounded out Trine's performers with a time of 25:14.18. She earned the Thunder 141 points with her efforts. Richardson's time was nearly a one-minute improvement over her previous-best 6K time.
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Trine returns to action Saturday, Oct. 15 in the Inter-Regional Rumble at Oberlin College. The race will be the team's final tune-up before the MIAA Cross Country Championships.