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November 4, 2006
WAYNE, Neb. - Bemidji State wrapped up its cross
country season at the North Central Regional meet on Saturday
with freshman Genna Ironi leading the way as she completed
the course with a time of 25:19.75. Ironi finished in 99th
place in the field of 154, the highest finish for a BSU runner
since Christa Pribula finished 88th in 2003.
Ironi chopped nearly 44 seconds off of her time from at the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference meet from Oct. 28,
and has head coach Craig Hougen looking to the future.
“Genna really stepped up for us today and turned in
a good performance,” Hougen said. “She came into
this program as a mid-distance runner but has a lot of potential
to expand that role. She is just now learning how to develop
those skills so she can run the longer distances and hopefully
she will be able to continue to develop into a quality runner
for us as we shift our focus to the upcoming track season.”
As a team the Bemidji State women finished 24th in the region.
Crossing the line behind Ironi were teammates Jillian Schuster,
Sara Opdahl, Allison Osgood and Ali Judkins.
Schuster was the second Bemidji State runner to complete the
course and she did so with a time of 27:13.00 and finished
in 133rd place overall. Opdahl finished just 17 seconds (27:30.10)
and two places (135th) later.
Western State College (Colo.) sophomore Esther Komen captured
the top individual honor at the event (20:58.45), improving
on her second place finish at the meet last year. Komen’s
first place finish helped her team grab an overall first place
finish at the regional meet, knocking off Adams State College
(Colo.). Entering the meet Adams State had won the team title
at the North Central Regional for four consecutive seasons
dating back to 2002. Western State last won the team title
in 2001.
The meet brought the 2006 cross country season to an end for
Bemidji State.
Other BSU finishers:
1. Esther Komen (Western State) - 20:58.45
99. Genna Ironi - 25:19.75
133. Jillian Schuster - 27:13.00
135. Sara Opdahl - 27:30.10
148. Allison Osgood - 29:31.10
149. Ali Judkins - 29:42.95
Team Standings:
1. Western State (40), 24. Bemidji State (664)
--bsu--
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