Short-handed BU Women show well at Mount Marty Invite

YANKTON, S.D. -- Four Bruin runners raced in the Mount Marty Invitational on Saturday for the Bellevue University women's cross country team.

Course and Conditions:

The meet was held at the Fox Run Golf Course in Yankton, S.D. and the race temperature was 45° with a strong northwest wind.

The competitive field included 13 teams featuring No. 9-ranked Dordt, University of Sioux Falls (NCAA D-2), Augustana (NCAA D-2), and individuals from NCAA D-1 South Dakota State.

Recap:

Lorena Ramirez was Bellevue's top finisher on Saturday. She placed 69^th overall, in a field of 129 runners, with a time of 21:19.65 in the 5K event.

Dayana Montano-Salama produced a time of 25:02.26. Diana Montano-Salama was next across the finish line in a time of 26:44.87.

Emily Gigax rounded out the Bruin lineup with a time of 31:04.7.

Augustana (49 points) edged out Sioux Falls (51 points) and Dordt (52 points) to take home the team title.

Dordt's Annechiena Knevelbaard took home individual medalist honors with a time of 18:28.33. Taryn Ceglowski (18:32.82) of Sioux Falls and Allison Higgins (18:38.61) of Morningside also produced podium finishes.

With just four runners, BU was unable to score as a team.

Coach Craig Christians:

"Conditions were tough today with a cold and strong north win and we hadn't run in anything like that yet this year. The weather is certainly not going to be nicer when we go to conference in Wisconsin in a couple weeks so hopefully we learned from our race today … how to dress, how to warm up, and how to use the wind to our benefit. Most of the team was about a minute off of their personal bests and I thought they ran well for the conditions."

Up Next:

With the regular season finished, Bellevue next competes at the North Star Athletic Association Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3. The meet is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Maple Grove Venues in West Salem, Wis. and will be hosted by Viterbo University.