Eagles Battle the Heat in Grand View Invitational
(Ankeny, IA) - Cross Country battled the heat in their only meet in Ankeny on Saturday.
The Faith men's and women's cross country teams raced in the Grand View Invitational in Ankeny, IA, their only "home" race of the year.
The Faith women ran a 6k for the second week in a row before they return to a 5k distance in their next race in October. The Eagles finished in a similar fashion with Carlie Blevins (25:20.4 // 10th place finish), Becca Hulinsky (28:04.3), and Lydia Mueller (30:18.8) leading the charge. Karynna Ward (31:50.3), Tina Lange (37:37.0), Jenessa Anderson (38:29.5), and Vanya Kliewer (45:47.5) all set new season highs, and Elizabeth Beenken (34:25.2) and Alees Stephens (33:31.3) finished out the team totals in the Eagles first race with all nine runners participating.
The men were once again led by Owen Festler (33:41.4). Ethan Smith posted a new career high with his 8k time of 35:49.7, and Andrew Hackley (38:30.8) and Ben Hackley (39:42.1) rounded out the scoring. The Eagles will once again have to wait to qualify for Nationals as a team as they only had four runners participate in Saturday's race.
Up Next: Faith Cross Country will return to action in the Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly, IA on Saturday, October 5th at 10:00 AM (Women), and 10:45 AM (Men).