Steinmetz Races to Runner-Up Finish at Gans Creek Classic

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Friday's Gans Creek Classic, hosted by the University of Missouri, saw a gathering of cross country superpowers from NCAA DI to the NJCAA, and for the third time in as many meets, the Bruins' Grace Steimentz proved to be among the best in the NAIA. Steinmetz and the Bruins competed in the third of three races with a noon start under bright sunshine and warming temperatures. Steinmetz went immediately to the front group of three, passed one runner, and then held that second position to the finish, establishing a new Bruin record for the standard six-kilometer distance with her 21:33.7, a 5:47 per mile pace. That time shaved seven seconds from Madison Nelson's record and is currently the fifth fastest in the NAIA.

Behind Steinmetz, the Bruin women turned in their best team performance of the young season by placing 13th in the 20-team field of mostly NAIA and NCAA DII teams. Running second for the second week in a row for the Bruins was junior transfer Maggie Boley, placing 120th in the 238-runner field with a 24:53.6 clocking. She was followed closely in 131st place by Alicia Rivera Camargo in 25:10.2. Running fourth for the Bruins was freshman Wren Hofacket, who recorded 26:50.1 in 180th. The day's final scorer was Cloey Usher in 202nd at 28:20.4. Also competing for the Bruin women were Lydia Cherotich, who made her Bruin debut, placing 213th in 29:33.0, and Emily Usher, who crossed in 35:26.3 for 235th.

Head Coach Craig Christians: "It's a great experience for us to come to Columbia and not only compete on a fantastic facility but see some national powers in action. By the time we ran today, it was getting hot, and I think we all felt that in the latter stage of the race. I was still happy with the way we ran, and beating some teams just adds a dimension of excitement to it. Grace ran fearlessly again. A runner-up finish at a meet like this is no small feat. We have work to do, but we're going in the right direction."

The Bruins now begin a two-week training block and will return to racing action on October 11 at the Holiday Inn Express Classic held on the campus of Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa.