Taking on an incredibly competitive field at the NCAA Regionals at Angel Mounds in Evansville, the Panthers came away with four PR’s, one season’s best, and one time just two seconds off a PR.
Freshman Abigail Lesniak became just the third runner in KWC history to break the 23 minute barrier in a 6K, coming in at a time of 22:54.9 (86th). Freshman Kate Keller ran a very strong race, becoming the fifth fastest 6K runner in KWC history with a time of 24:34.6 (157th). Emery Crume used a powerful closing kick to finish with a time of 24:46.5 (163rd). Abby Greene finished with a 15-second PB, closing strong to come across the line in 25:01.3 (168th). Junior Lucy Knutson kept Greene in her sights the entire race, finishing just behind her with a time of 25:03.4 (172nd). After struggling with injuries all season, senior Shannon Ruble ran a very solid time of 25:36.9 (178th). Sarah Vanderhoof kicked it in gear at the end to come in with a time of 25:55.8 (182nd), making sure every Panther finished under 26 minutes.
This is just the third time in recorded women’s XC history that Kentucky Wesleyan has sent a full team to the NCAA Regional, and the first time every runner finished with a time under 26 minutes.
“Things went spectacularly well today,” said Head Coach Sol Stephens. “Abigail Lesniak was a monster with another PR. I had two goals this season. One was that everyone finish the season healthy, and that has been accomplished. The second goal was that everyone runs their best times in their last race, and with four PR’s, one season best, and one time just two seconds off a PR, I’d say we accomplished that. We are definitely trending in the right direction, and everyone is excited about that. Greene really stepped up today, and I’m extremely proud of the way Crume and Keller ran. Now we figure out who’s going into what event heading into track season and we will gear up to run our best when the conference meet comes to Owensboro in May.”
Abigail Lesniak stated “I gave it everything I had. I felt great and made sure to keep my head up and try to pick off people in front of me one by one. I pushed and am really proud of my time today. I’ve been improving every meet this season and I want to keep that trend going as we head into track season.”
After her impressive day, Abby Greene said “I felt like we did really well today. Our middle group packed really well, and our front runners really stepped up. It’s really exciting how much we have improved this season. I ran a huge PR today and couldn’t be happier.”
Grand Valley State won the meet with 40 points. Jennifer Comastri of Southern Indiana won the meet with a time of 20:24.5.
