On Saturday, Nov. 17, the women’s cross country team along with senior standout Brian Ball from the men’s team went to Kenosha, Wis., to face off against the country’s top collegiate runners in below 30 degree temperatures.
In his fourth trip to nationals in his cross country career, Ball placed seventh of the top 258 runners in the country with a time of 24:53 in the 8k.
“This year, my super-senior year, I finished off my last year of eligibility with a seventh place finish and got my third All-American honors for cross country,” Ball said. “I did so much better this year because I had no injuries at all this year.”
Senior Kristin Schmidt led the women’s group in a time of 18:06, which earned an 11th place finish. The next Biola woman was freshman Katie Thede, who finished in 65th place with a time of 18:52 in the 5k. Thede was also chosen to receive the Champions of Character Award, which is given to one runner from every qualifying team.
The women’s team earned an 11th place finish, a far cry from their standing last year which showed how much the team has grown.
“I was really satisfied with the season,” Coach Jonathan Zimmerman said. The men were last in the conference last year, and were 34th in the nation this year. The women were fifth in the conference last year and are 11th in the nation this year. That showed really good improvement,” Coach Jonathan Zimmerman said.
The only glitch in the race was felt by senior Anna Thibodo who encountered a problem with a mile remaining when a fellow runner’s spike snagged her heel, causing her shoe to fall halfway off. She let it go and continued on the rocky course in a sock and finished with a time of 19:17 in her fourth consecutive championship race.
Other runners on the women’s team included senior Amanda Stephens and freshmen Sarah Brooks, Erika Perez and Connie Andersen. The team also boasts four of Biola’s seven NAIA Scholar Athletes, including seniors Amanda Stephens, Kristin Schmidt, Danielle Gomes and Danielle Simpson.
“The women’s team has a lot of depth,” Zimmerman said. “We had ten different girls in the top seven this season.”
Zimmerman was also pleased with his team’s determination to make an impression at nationals.
“The team could have easily been happy just going there, but they went there and competed well,” he said. “The kids kept their focus all the way through.”
Among other teams in the GSAC, Biola’s women finished second behind Azusa Pacific University, edging out Cal State San Marcos who beat them in the conference race by a single point.
