RESULTS

BLAINE, Minn. – The long wait is finally over for cross country season to arrive for the Royals. After 650 days without a cross country competition, Bethel raced at their home meet – the Twin Cities Twilight – on Friday evening.

"This was the best season opener our women have had in my 8 years here," said Head Coach Joe Stephens. "I was proud of the brave racing I saw, but we certainly aren't satisfied yet. We still have a long way to go."

The Royals took 3^rd place and ended up as the top Division III team with 92 points. Erika Swanson led the way for Bethel with her 12^th place finish, making her the 2^nd fastest Division III athlete of the day. Swanson covered the 3 mile course in 18:21. Captain Grace Cole took 24^th overall with a solid time of 19:02. Raina Moorjani closed hard to finish in 19:03, which earned her 27^th place. Freshman Ruby Gernandt was in the mix as the 4^th Royal across the line. Gernandt took 29^th place and ran 19:06. Annessa Ihde rounded out the scoring in 36^th place with a time of 19:32.

"This was a solid start to our season and I'm excited to keep working hard together," says Stephens. Bethel will continue their season next weekend as they travel south to Luther College on Saturday, September 11^th.