LAWRENCE, KAN.—Freshman Miranda Kruiswyk (Dunlap, Ill.) turned in the second-fastest 6,000-meter time in Central College women's cross country history at the Rim Rock Farm Collegiate Meet hosted by the University of Kansas Saturday.
           
Kruiswyk was 13th overall in 22:17.9, trailing only Beth Cunningham on Central's all-time charts. Cunningham ran 21:53 in 2004.
           
"I can't say enough about Miranda," coach Joe Dunham said. "She ran really well. She was aggressive and was not intimidated by the incredible competition. There were some pretty big schools there."
           
Central, the lone NCAA Division III squad in the 16-team field, was 10th with 265 points. Host Kansas won with 26, followed by Missouri-Kansas City and Kansas State. The Dutch finished between Nebraska-Kearney and Central Missouri State.
           
Another freshman, Sheridan LaCoste (Rudd, R-R-MR HS), was next in 37th (23:29.4).
           
"Sheridan ran an incredible race," Dunham said. "She looked so strong and so confident. She took a really big step."
           
Lauren Moll (junior, Faribault, Minn.) followed in 49th (23:52.2), Sarah Steffensmeier (junior, Fort Madison) was 95th (25:31.3), Rachel Peter (senior, Prairie City, PCM HS) 110th (26:19.1), Carly Klavins (junior, Urbandale)  121st (26:47.8) and Jenna Murray (senior, Grandview, Louisa-Muscatine HS) 123rd (26:54.1).
           
"I was really happy with the way we ran, we just need to tighten our pack," Dunham said. "Our No. 2-5 runners need to get closer together."
           
Men finish ninth-- Central's men were a tightly bunched ninth in a 16-team field. Host Kansas won with 27 points followed by Missouri-Kansas City. Central had 266 points, finishing between Division II Central Missouri State and Missouri Western.
           
Freshman Jeremy Fopma (Marion) was 49th in 26:18.9 on the 8,000-meter course. Jordan Toomey (senior, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) was 58th in 26:28.0 with Patrick Gorkow (freshman, Van Horne, Benton HS) 65th at 26:31.8, Nate Sanders (sophomore, Waukee) 67th at 26:34.6, Easton Sabala (freshman, Hermitage, Mo., Hermitage-Wheatland HS) 71st at 26:36.1, Preston Kizer (junior, Dubuque) 72nd at 26:36.7 and Brycen Wallace (freshman, Greenfield, Nodaway Valley HS) 74th at 26:39.1.
           
Just 18 seconds separated Central's top five runners.
           
"That's the tightest pack we've had since I've been at Central," Dunham said. "I was hoping to be a little further up in the field, but we had a lot of (personal bests) so I can't be too upset. I'm pleased with how the team is progressing. We're running a lot of freshmen who are still learning how to run longer races."
           
Central heads out of state again Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Wis.-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational. The race serves as a national meet preview as it's conducted at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisconsin, site of the NCAA Division III Championships Nov. 17.
           
"It will give our runners a chance to run another fast course with a lot of good competition," Dunham said. "We're trying to simulate a regional meet and get some experience with really fast runners."