NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Trine University women's cross country team, led by senior Evie Bultemeyer [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead], laid claim to third place as a team in the 6K race at the 2021 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships on Friday afternoon.
Bultemeyer took home first place on the individual leaderboard and earned the title Most Valuable Runner for the second time in her career (2019). She topped the field by nearly 29 seconds and trimmed 1:24 off her race-winning time from two years ago. Bultemeyer becomes a four-time All-Conference recipient and two-time Most Valuable Runner in her career, a first for Trine since joining the league.
The team championship went to Hope College, followed by Calvin University and Trine.
"Our women's team struggled a bit today," Head Coach Zach Raber stated. "In our conference, with Hope and Calvin, if you're off just a little bit, then you're in for a tough day. Evie was really good today. She's continuing to put together a great season. Carol Haldeman [Syracuse, Ind. / Fairfield] and Chloe Brittain [Wheeler, Mich. / Breckenridge] also ran well."
Haldeman finished 14th with a career-best time of 23:13.6. Haldeman and Brittain, who placed 15th at 23:14.2, were members of the Second Team All-Conference. It is the sophomore Haldeman's first time being named All-Conference and Brittain now becomes a two-time All-MIAA titleholder.
Freshmen Chloe Goodrich [Burlington, Ind. / Carroll] and Lydia Randolph [Jefferson, Ohio / Edgewood Senior] wrapped up Trine scoring with 29th and 30th place finishes. Goodrich crossed the finish line at 24:18.2 and Randolph a time of 24:23.0.
"We'll need to tighten things up over the next two weeks for Regionals, but I'm confident we'll bounce back," Raber acknowledged.
The Great Lakes Regional will take place on Saturday, November 13 at Blue River Cross Country Course Shelbyville, Indiana.