NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Ruth Steinke (Fy./Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) placed ninth overall in the race as the Carleton College women's cross country team finished third out of 24 squads at the St. Olaf Invitational. The Knights finished with 94 points, only two behind Minnesota State-Mankato, a NCAA Division II program.
Carleton placed all five scorers in the top 30. Steinke crossed the line at 23:03.1, while Rachael Klehm (Sr./Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) as the only upperclass runner to score for the Knights, finished 13th out of 381 racers at 23:21.4.
“The overall transition from a 5k last week at Luther to a 6k this weekend went smooth,” said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. “The majority of our athletes had not competed in a 6k prior to this race. The season is early, and we are really just learning about ourselves as a team.”
After Colette Selichowski (So./Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) placed 19th overall, the next two Knights to complete the course were first-years Sally Donovan (Minneapolis, Minn./South) and Shira Kaufman (Leverett, Mass./Amherst Regional Academy) at 26th and 27th, respectively.
The meet was also double-scored as the first-ever ACM Championships as seven of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest participated. St. Olaf won both team titles, with the Knights placing second ahead of Grinnell, Macalester, Beloit, Coe, and Knox.
“I am confident that with the work ethic that they have demonstrated, getting to know their teammates better, and getting settled after this first week of classes, we are going to see some fun racing this season,” said Ricks. “The best thing that we can do as a team is to stay relaxed and continue to gradually build upon our race structure—that’s what these early season races are for—to prepare us for late October and early November.”
The Knights next race at the UW-Eau Claire’s Blugold Invitational in Colfax, Wisconsin, on Friday, Sept. 21. That race is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.
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