WAVERLY—Previewing the site of the Nov. 11 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, the No. 23-ranked Central College women's cross country team delivered a promising showing at the Dan Huston Invitational Saturday.
No.-2 ranked Wartburg College, the host school, took the title in the 18-team meet with 31 points while Central had 57, Simpson College had 122 and Grinnell College had 151.
"Our women had another great day," coach
Joe Dunham said. "I can't say enough about these runners. They're just tough."
Central's
Caroline McMartin (senior, Pella) was third in 22:08.6 on the 6,000-meter course, just 5 seconds out of first place.
"Caroline was right up front at the beginning and kind of led the whole race with two Wartburg runners," Dunham said. "It came down to the last (1,000 meters) and Caroline was right there. We're happy with where she is. She looks really good. We're in a process right now and I know what we've done with our training up to this point."
Megan Johnson (senior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) was seventh in 22:51.2 while
Addison Parrott (junior, Danville) was 10th in 23:22.6,
Lindsey Davidson (senior, Northwood, Northwood-Kensett HS) was11th in 23:26.1,
Leah Bontrager (sophomore, Wellman, Hillcrest Academy) was 26th in 24:19.1,
Hailey Hill (5th-year, Las Vegas, Nevada, Palo Verde HS) was 29th in 24:23.0 and
Kate Hoogensen (senior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) was 37th in 24:37.1.
"
Megan Johnson was dealing with some tired legs this week but she fought really hard," Dunham said. "And
Hailey Hill really had a breakout race to get back up into that top seven where she was last year. She really had a great day.
Central journeys to the East Coast Oct. 14 for the Connecticut College Invitational at New London, Connecticut. The field is likely to include several nationally ranked squads, Dunham said.
"It's going to be a loaded field," Dunham said. "I think a lot of regional teams from the Midwest are flying out. So it will be a really fun experience."
