The LCSC Women's cross country team made its first trip to the NAIA national championships and finished as the 15th best team in the country.  Not too bad considering that this is just the 6th year of the program's existance.  Truly this team is better than 15th in the country, just that being an inexperienced first timer to the national meet showed itself in the race.  Not that they didn't run well or run hard, just trying to take in all that goes with running for a national title is hard to do your first time out.

The conditions were pretty good.  Nice temperatures (mid 60's), however the course was wet and muddy in spots, which helps to slow things down a little.  Tausha Kuzmic led the team, finishing in the 45th spot, just 15 spots out of all-american.  Had she not lost a shoe at the start of the race, there is no doubt she would have finished in the top thirty.  She was followed by Courtney Copenhaver, Emma Linehan, Lauren Wright, and Katie Moser.  Rounding out the top 7 were Lisa Paxton and Lisa Panian.

The girls should be very proud of their accomplishment.  Although it may be hard to say so close to the end of a long season, I hope, as their coach, that this experience lights a little fire under each of them that they will strive to make it back to this race and show the rest of the country what it truly means to run in the same race as the warriors.  With no seniors on the squad, this team is poised to break into the top 10 and run for a national title for many years to come.

To see full results go to www.naia.org click on cross country (w) and championship updates.

Thank you for a great season and we hope you will continue to support the warriors in the future.

Coach Collins