FHSU Sports Information Department
VICTORIA, Kan. – Fort Hays State women’s cross country posted its best-ever finish at the MIAA Championships on Saturday (Oct. 24) at Sand Plum Nature Trail. Fort Hays State had two All-MIAA First Team performers and a pair of honorable mention runners as well to finish.
Shea Bonine had one of her best collegiate performances to date by finishing sixth individually in a time of 22:25 on the 6K course. She joined Micki Krzesinski as All-MIAA First Team performers, as Krzesinski finished 10th in a time of 22:34. Chelsea Jackson matched her placing at the MIAA Championships from last year, finishing 11th again in a time of 22:46. Sophie Dalmasso also nudged in the top 20, finishing in 23:14 for 20th. Jackson and Dalmasso receive All-MIAA Honorable Mention status by finishing in the top 20. Yessenia Gonzales rounded out the scorers for FHSU in 33rd individually in a time of 23:57.
For the second time in three years, Southwest Baptist claimed the team title. The Bearcats had a score of 39, besting defending champion Missouri Southern by 14 points. The Bearcats had four top 10 finishers. Senior Katherine Sitzes, who finished 10th last year at the conference championships, took the individual title with a time of 21:26.2 on the 6K course. She topped last year’s champion, teammate Elizabeth Luckel, by nearly 21 seconds. A fifth-place finish by Mary Carr and eighth-place finish by Ashley Lawson gave the Bearcats two more inside the top 10.
Missouri Southern (53 points) placed two in the top 10 with Emily Harris in fourth and Kindra Emberton in seventh. Other finishers in the top 10 were Morgan Benesch of Nebraska-Kearney in third and Lisa Feuerherdt of Lindenwood in ninth.
The Tigers compete at the NCAA Central Regional in two weeks in Joplin, Mo.