SHELBYVILLE, IND. -- The Trine University women's cross country team posted its highest team finish ever with an 11th-place showing at the annual NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Meet hosted by Franklin College at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville, Ind.
The Thunder finished with an overall team score of 307 points to place 11th out of 33 teams. Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) University took the top spot with 114 points and was followed by Allegheny (Pa.) College in second place with 121 points. Oberlin (Ohio) College rounded out the top-three schools with 124 points.
Individually, Trine had two competitors earn All-Region honors in sophomore Evonne Bultemeyer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and senior Lacie Piekarski (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake). Bultemeyer finished in the top-10 following a time of 21:59.7 on the 6k course which was good enough for ninth overall of 240 total runners. Her ninth place finish also advances her to the national meet which will be held next Saturday in Oshkosh, Wis. Bultemeyer becomes the first Trine women's runner to qualify to the national cross country meet. Piekarski earned All-Region honors thanks to her 26th-place finish after running a time of 22:49.9.
Sophomore Elizabeth Lohman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) was the third Trine runner to cross the finish line and posted a mark of 23:26.2 and was followed by fellow sophomore Ruth Luebcke (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) who had a time of 24:17.4.
Freshman Chloe Brittain (Wheeler, Mich./Breckenridge) finished two spots back of Luebcke and navigated the course in a time of 24:17.8. The final two Trine representatives were sophomores Stacy Dibley (Bristol, Ind./Elkhart Central) and Miranda Coombs (Lexington, Mich./Croswell-Lexington). Dibley placed sixth on the team with a time of 24:54.9 and Coombs had a time of 27:56.1 to round out the competitors.
The NCAA Division III National Championships will hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh next Saturday, Nov. 17 in Oshkosh, Wis. The women's 6k race is scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. CST.
"The women's team had their highest finish in program history with an 11th place finish," said Head Coach Zach Raber. "We had 2 girls finish All-Region for the second consecutive year and Evie Bultemeyer becomes our first women's national qualifier in history with her ninth-place finish. She put herself in great position early and was able to finish strong. Lacie Piekarski also had a great finish to her XC career with a personal best time and a 26th place finish overall. A huge improvement from last year."