Trojans Claim Fifth-Straight Top-Three Finish at Indiana Intercollegiate
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Jane Hawks, Alex Berends and Michelle Franch raced to All-Indiana Little State honors, as No. 8 Taylor took third overall and finished ahead of all other NAIA and NCAA Division III competitors in Friday's Indiana Intercollegiate Championships.
"We had some excellent performances today and we had some people struggle," said TU head coach Quinn White. "It was a great race for us to learn from and move forward. This team has a lot of potential but also has a lot of room for growth."
NCAA Division II Indianapolis claimed the top team finish with 42 points, edging fellow NCAA Division II foe Southern Indiana's 45 points for the team crown. Taylor posted a team time of 99:01 in the challenging conditions to finish third in the 19-team field with 83 points.
The third-place showing was the fifth-straight year that the Taylor women's cross country team has finished inside the top-three at the Indiana Intercollegiate Championships.
Hawks led the charge for the Trojans, crossing the line at 19:18.7 to finish seventh overall, with Berends taking 10th with a time of 19:28.7 and Franch ending 17th at 19:51.5. The trio earned All-Indiana Little State honors for finishing inside the top-20 of the 146-individual field.
Hannah Keyser was next in line for Taylor, taking 25th with a time of 20:11.1, while Hannah Schroder followed in 26th with a time of 20:13.8 to round out TU's top-five performances. In all, Taylor place all nine of its individuals inside the top-53 finishers in the race.
Several other Trojans competed in the open race earlier in the afternoon, led by a 17th-place showing by Anna Souzis, who posted a time of 21:03.8. Taryn Seeland also secured a top-20 showing in the 93-competitor race with a time of 21:13.4.
"Overall, I am proud of this team and excited about what is to come," added White. "I am excited for several weeks of training before we go down to Louisville and go against some of the best NCAA Division II and NAIA schools in the region."
No. 8 Taylor (25-2) will return to action on October 3, when it races at the Greater Louisville Classic.
