CLINTON, Iowa – No. 3 Cal State San Marcos women's cross country claimed second place at the Association of Independent Institution (A.I.I.) championships on Saturday, finishing behind No. 1 University of British Columbia.
"I believe we ran well but UBC is unbelievable," said head coach
Steve Scott. "They are the best team I have ever seen in the NAIA. They haven't lost anyone in from their last two championships teams."
Scott continued, "We didn't run poorly at all, they just ran so well. If we plugged in our times into last year's nationals, we would be in third place."
With high winds and temperatures as low as 35, CSUSM tallied 43 points while top-ranked UBC snagged 18 to defend its title.
The Cougars, who had three finish in the top 10, were led by
Kate Bouvatte who finished fourth overall individually in a time of 17:51.6. Competing in her first postseason race, freshman
Natalie Rodriguez placed sixth with a time of 18:04.8.
A group of Cougars, which is perfectly called a pride, crossed the finish line to take 10th thru 14th place and solidify CSUSM's runner-up title. Junior
Charlotte Kuzminsky snuck in under the top 10 at 18:55.3, followed by sophomore
Cristen Lane (19:01.4), sophomore
Raelyn Werley (19:13.5), sophomore
Terra McGinnis (19:18.1) and freshman
Bailey Smith (19:18.8).
The NAIA National Championships will be Saturday, Nov. 22 in Lewiston, Kansas. CSUSM has finished in the top 10 each of the last five seasons, including three straight national championships from 2009-2011.
TEAM SCORES1. British Columbia –18
; 2. Cal State San Marcos – 43; 3. Johnson & Wales (Colo.) – 109; 4. Rochester College – 111; 5. Ashford – 112; 6. Northern New Mexico – 170
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS1. Maria Bernard (UBC) – 17:02.9; 2. Natalia Hawthorn (UBC) – 17:26.5; 3. Amelie De Fenoyl (UBC) – 17:34.6;
4. Kate Bouvatte (CSUSM) – 17:51.6; 5. Jackie Regan (UBC) – 17:57.1;
6. Natalie Rodriguez (CSUSM) – 18:04.8; 7. Tamara Harris (UBC) – 18:12.9; 8. Sandra Kilmartin (UBC) – 18:20.3; 9. Kirsten Lee (UBC) – 18:31.4;
10. Charlotte Kuzminsky (CSUSM) – 18:55.3; OTHERS INCLUDED: 11. Cristen Lane (CSUSM) – 19:01.4; 12. Raelyn Werley (CSUSM) – 19:13.5; 13. Terra McGinnis (CSUSM) – 19:18.1; 14. Bailey Smith (CSUSM) – 19:18.8
