Women's Cross Country competed in SCAC Championships
SEGUIN, Texas – The University of Dallas women's cross country team competed in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championships on Saturday. As a team, the Crusaders scored 142 points and finished in sixth place. UD was four points behind Southwestern University in the next highest spot. Austin College took fourth with 116.
Trinity University won the title with 21 points compiled. Trinity and Colorado College, who finished second with 34 points, split the top 10 individual spots in the standings. Texas Lutheran University rounded out the top trio of teams with a 104.
Laura Taylor captured first in the 6k race with a 21:22 mark. Teammate Molly McCullough nearly came even with a 21:25 for second. Allysa Warling from Colorado College completed the top three with a 21:37.
Running in just their second 6k this fall, the Crusaders amassed five personal records (PRs) and saw a pair of debuts. The other competition this distance was the 2017 Saints Invitational.
Earning the best time for Dallas and setting the first PR among the quintet was Alexandra Ralles (Tucson, Ariz.) with a 25:36 time. That score ticked nearly two minutes off her other time. Emma Kate Callahan (Overland Park, Kan.) made her 6k debut and notched second among UD runners with a 25:51 time.
Catherine Thelen (Raleigh, N.C.) and Clare Hernandez (Dade City, Fla.) went back-to-back with 26:10 and 26:16 respective times. Mackenzie Tano (Wylie, Texas) secured the team's fifth fastest time with a 26:10. The top five Dallas times were within a 10-slot span. Thelen and Tano's results counted for PRs, while Hernandez was the other running such a distance for the first time. Thelen clocked a 28:19.9 in the other 6k race, while Tano reduced her fastest time by over three minutes.
Hannah Guth (Lake Charles, La.) and Alondra Hurtado (Wichita Falls, Texas) were the next Dallas finishers and crossed consecutively at 28:16 and 28:20, respectively. The duo times counted as the final PRs for the Crusaders. Guth improved over a minute from 29:35.8, while Hurtado replaced her former best that was 28:52.1.
Ana Wilhelm (Kiowa, Kan.) bested her earlier time this season with a 29:40-clip, which shaved off over a minute from 31:18.8 at the Saints Invitational.
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes the 2017 season on November 10th with a 6k at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) held in Virginia Beach, Virginia.