Oskaloosa, Iowa - Sophomore Bea Foley ( Greenville, Wis., Wis.) and freshman Rosemary Loken ( La Crosse, Wis., Wis.) qualified for the NAIA National Championship Meet with their efforts at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championship Meet. The Lady V-Hawks as a team came up just short as they finished in second place overall.
Foley led Viterbo with a second place finish and a time of 19:44 for the five kilometer race. Loken also had a strong race finishing seventh overall in 20:22. Loken was followed closely by two of her teammates with Mollie Brady (Fr. - Janesville, Wis..) finishing in 18th place with a time of 21:23 and Emma McCarthy (So. - Eleva, Wis..) in 20th place with a time of 21:41. Sophomore Cindy Leuck ( Cashton, Wis., Wis.) was the final Viterbo scorer earning 22nd place. Senior Catie Pinger ( Amery, Wis., Wis.) ran a personal record time of 22:45 to finish 30th out of 72 runners in her final cross country meet.
With their second and seventh place finishes, Foley and Loken earned automatic individual qualification spots for the 30th Women's NAIA Cross Country National Championships. Foley and Loken were also honored as First Team All-MCC performers and Foley was selected to be a member of the MCC Champions of Character Team.
The meet was won by Mount Mercy College who will represent the MCC at the National Championship. The individual champion was Obsie Birru from Grand View in 18:25. While a season of team competition which included team victories at the Mustang Gallop, Crown College Invitational and at the Wisconsin Private Colleges Championships comes to an end, Foley and Loken will return to action on Saturday November 21st at the NAIA National Championship Meet in Portland, Oregon.
Overall Team Results:
Women: 1.) Mount Mercy (34 points), 2.) Viterbo (63 points), 3.) St. Ambrose (67 points), 4.) Grand View (80 points), 5.) Clarke (150 points), 6.) Ashford (186 points), 7.) William Penn (197 points), 8.) Iowa Wesleyan (217 points)
Individual Viterbo Results
Women (out of 72 runners, all times for 5-K)
2. Bea Foley 19:44
7. Rosemary Loken 20:22
18. Mollie Brady 21:33
20. Emma McCarthy 21:41
22. Cindy Leuck 21:53
24. Danielle Stark 21:58
30. Catie Pinger 22:45
37. Alli Weil 23:10
54. Megan Mitchell 25:08
64. Kelsey Lange 27:54
