Steinmetz looking for strong finish at Cross Country Nationals
Bellevue University freshman Grace Steinmetz will conclude her breakout debut season when she travels to Apalachee Park in Tallahassee, Fla., for the NAIA Cross Country Championship on Nov. 21. An elementary education major from Heartland Christian in Council Bluffs, Steinmetz qualified for the national championship by virtue of her convincing win at the Frontier Conference championship in Billings, Mont., on November 7. She enters the meet with the fifth fastest time in the NAIA this fall for six kilometers.
Steinmetz is currently riding a three-meet win streak with victories at Dordt, Blazing Tiger, and the Frontier Conference. At Dordt, she set a course record of 20:40.4 and came back two weeks later to set the meet record at the Blazing Tiger Invite at Mahoney State Park. She currently owns the top four times in Bruin school history. Over the course of her season, she has lost to only fifteen athletes among the nearly 1300 she has raced, ten from NCAA Division I, four from Division II, and one NAIA runner whom she later defeated.
Her accolades during the season include three Frontier Conference Runner of the Week honors and national recognition from the NAIA and US Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as their national Runner of the Week.
"As a runner whose best 5K in high school was 20:34 and placed 73rd at Iowa's Class 1A cross country championship, saying this season has been a surprise is a huge understatement," commented head coach Craig Christians. "Grace's hard work beginning this summer and continuing throughout the season and Coach Musiel's training plan are a couple of the big factors in her success. She just goes out and runs fast, and it's that simple. There's not a lot of conversation with Grace. We explain the workout or say a few words of racing advice, and she gets it done."
The national meet begins on Friday at 8:30 AM Eastern, with the women's championship followed by the men's race at 9:30. A live stream is available on the NAIA channel on UEN. Live results are available from PT Timing at https://pttiming.com/event.php?mid=2531&pt=schedule