The HU Cowgirl cross country team traveled to Missouri for the Southern Stampede with one goal in mind-- race faster. And race faster they did, as all seven HU runners set new personal records over the hilly Missouri Southern course.
Faith Lovato (28th/17:52) broke 18 minutes for the first time in her career and
Jewels Leslie (19:02) narrowly missed her first ever sub-19 minute effort to help the Cowgirls finish just outside the top twenty in the team standings.
NMHU placed 21 out of 28 teams. The University of Arkansas took both team title and individual crown at the meet.
"Faith raced much smarter this week -- she wasn't intimidated by the D1 schools and nationally ranked DII teams in the race. She trusted herself a little more," said HU coach
Bob DeVries.
Not be outdone,
Faith Jebet (20:40)
Anica Lucero (21:27)
Kailyn Wilson (21:38) Abi Serna (21:40), and
Irma Berkowitz (26:14) all raced to new collegiate bests as well.Â
"It was exciting to see everyone pushing themselves and really racing, not just settling in. To be fast, you have to embrace being uncomfortable, " noted DeVries.
The women are back in action Friday, Sept. 23 for the only home meet of the season. The HU XC Jam gets underway at 2pm at the Gene Torres Golf course. Both college and high school races will take place through the afternoon.
Official Results
27th. LovatoÂ
78th. LeslieÂ
140th. Jebet
155th. Lucero
158th. Wilson