Results
ST. PAUL, Minn. -
Marie Borner (Sr, Cottage Grove, Minn.) collected her third consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship victory, covering the six-kilometer course in 21:43, winning over Carleton’s Simone Childs-Walker by thirty-two seconds. Borner ran well despite some chilly temperatures, very cold wind and a soft, muddy course. As a team, Bethel finished in second place out of 12 teams for the second year in a row.
This was the first time in Bethel University history that both a female and a male has captured first place in the MIAC Championship meet. Previous to Borner, Bethel’s last female winner was Angie Voight in 1998 and Millicent Thweatt in 1989.
Borner surged to the front immediately, building a ten to twelve second lead within the first two miles while stringing out the field of runners beginning the day well for the Bethel Royals.
Kristen Mork (Jr, Cambridge, Minn.) also ran very well for the Royals, finishing in 11th place with a time of 23:25. Last season, Mork ran 23:00 and finished 14th overall as Bethel finished second in the MIAC for the second consecutive year.
Heather Jelen (Sr, Sioux Falls, S.D.) finished in 12th place, right behind Mork, improving on her 15th place finish last season, giving the Royals at least three All-MIAC runners in two consecutive seasons.
Also in the top seven for the Royals was
Kayla Jelen (Jr, Sioux Falls, S.D.),
Alex Potter (Jr, Windom, Minn.),
Carissa Bodette (Fr, Lakeville, Minn.) and
Michelle Benson (Jr, Traverse City, Mich.).
Up next for the top seven runners for the Royals, who entered Saturday's race as the top ranked team in the NCAA Central Region and 14th ranked in the nation, is the regional meetl at Oakland Acres Golf Course in Grinnell, Iowa, on Nov. 14. Some of the ladies will also run at the Fall Finale at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. on Friday, Nov. 6.
