ALBION, Mich. -- The Trine women's cross country team placed fourth in the MIAA Championship to earn a fourth-place finish in the conference Saturday at Tomac Woods Golf Course.
The team's performance in the Championship allowed the Thunder to place fourth in the conference for the second year in a row. Trine entered the Championship in fifth-place due to its performance in the MIAA Jamboree. Championship results count two-thirds towards the final MIAA standings, while Jamboree performance makes up the final third. Kyla Binfet (West Yellowstone, Mont. / West Yellowstone) notched her second-straight All-MIAA performance to lead the way.
Binfet earned All-MIAA Second Team honors for her efforts. The junior notched a time of 23:20.7 on the 6K course to finish 12th overall and top the field of Thunder runners. Binfet is the only Trine women's cross country runner to earn All-MIAA honors since the team joined the conference in 2004.
Kelsey Ortiz (Swanton, Ohio / Anthony Wayne) finished second among Trine runners, placing 18th overall to earn the Thunder 17 points. The senior's time of 23:41.1 gave Ortize her highest-ever finish in a MIAA race. Lacie Piekarski (Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake) followed with a season-best 24:10.6 to earn 20 points for Trine. Piekarski's season-best time came on the heels of fighting back from a midseason injury.
Samantha Stensland (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) and Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) rounded out Trine's top five. Stensland earned the Thunder 23 points with a time of 24:18.7. She placed 29th overall. Blystone was the fifth Trine runner to cross the finish line, notching a time of 25:38.7. Heather Richardson (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) rounded out Thunder competitors in the event.
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Trine will compete in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships Saturday, Nov. 12. The Regional meet will be hosted by Hope College at West Ottawa Golf Club in Holland, Mich. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
