PRs Abound as Belles Take Seventh Place at Bethel Invite

Results

• Brittany Beeler posted the second-fastest 5k by a Belle while finishing eighth.
• Anna McClowry and Mary Philbin each had PRs while scoring for the Belles.
• Caitlin Blum, Sarah Allen, and Maggie Pacana each added PR times.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - In a field of several nationally-ranked NAIA programs, the Saint Mary's cross country team claimed seventh place at the Bethel Invitational at Saint Patrick's County Park on Friday evening.

Third-ranked Aquinas won the event with a team score of 41. Seventh-ranked Taylor was second with 58 points, and No. 17 Saint Xavier was third with 99 points. Indiana Tech (receiving votes), Indiana Wesleyan (No. 19), and Cornerstone (receiving votes) were all ahead of the Belles' 219.

Brittany Beeler had a personal record 5k time of 18:39.5 to edge out a runner from Aquinas for eighth overall. That time is also the second-fastest 5k time by a Belle in program history. Anna McClowry was the second Belle across the finish line and set a new PR of 19:56.3 for 47th overall (40 points). Adele Edmonds out-kicked a runner from Marian by three-tenths of a second to finish 62nd (54 points) with a 20:20.4.

Maura Honan ran a 20:25.2 to place 68th and earn 58 points toward the team total, and Mary Philbin had a strong finish and posted a personal record of 20:26.8 for 71st overall and 59 points to wrap up the team score. Reilly Pieri was just a few seconds behind with a time of 20:30.0 and beat out a Cornerstone runner by three-tenths of a second for 75th place.

Caitlin Blum added a personal record time of 20:31.0 while claiming 77th place. Katie Glenn ran a 20:45.7 for 91st. Sarah Allen cut nearly a minute off of her 5k personal record at the Calvin Invitational earlier this season with a 21:06.4 for 108th. Colleen Ogren was a second behind with a 21:07.4 for 109th. Maggie Pacana cut nearly 30 seconds off of her previous-best 5k with a new PR of 21:17.9 for 114th at the event.

Jen Kreighbaum placed 118th in 21:23.6, and Kathryn Marshall passed several runners down the final stretch for 120th in a time of 21:26.0. Fiona Winfrey turned in a 22:15.5 for 134th, and Mary Favo placed 135th in 22:19.3. Emily Harrast rounded out the field for the Belles with a 23:48.8 for 151st place.

The Belles travel to Ohio next Saturday for the Oberlin Regional Rumble. The first race at the event begins at 11:15 a.m.