Results

HANOVER, Ind. - Marie Borner (Jr., Cottage Grove, Minn.) doesn't like losing. Last weekend at the 23rd annual Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota saw Borner take a lead over rival Becca Jordahl of UW-River Falls for a short while, before eventually finishing in second place.

This weekend told a different story.

Borner dug deep and finished the 6-kilometer race in first place in a field of 173 runners, more than three seconds better than Jordahl with a time of 21:24.27 at the 2008 Hanover Pre-National meet. The race took place on the campus of Hanover College, site of this year's NCAA championship meet.

While Borner was the overall winner of the race, it takes a strong supporting cast to earn a second place team finish, especially when there are other nationally ranked teams involved. Alex Potter (So., Windom, Minn.) finished seventh overall with a time of 22:43.32, while Heather Jelen (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) also finished in the top 20 with a time of 23:22.61 - good for 18th place. Kristin Mork finished 21st overall with a time of 23:36.43, and Janelle Crary (Jr., Grand Forks, N.D.) finished 32nd with a time of 24:05.98 to round out Bethel's top five.

The Royals finished with a team score of 72, just two points back of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranked #10 in the nation, and 13 points ahead of DePauw, ranked #20 nationally. Bethel cracked the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll and is currently ranked #28 in the nation.

Bethel will now have the opportunity to rest for the next two weeks before they are scheduled to travel to Oshkosh, Wis., on Saturday, Oct. 18, for the UW-Oshkosh Cross Country Invitational.