Knoche, SAU take titles at Fighting Bee Invitational
Kaitlyn Knoche took home the individual title in her collegiate 5k debut, and St. Ambrose women's cross country captured the team title Saturday morning at Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf at the Fighting Bee Invitational.
Knoche crossed the finish line in 19:45 to take the win, more than 20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Adeline Smith was the next Bee runner to cross the line, coming in at 20:43 for a sixth-place finish. Rileigh Fortune (21:50), Merin Crowder (21:55), and Allison Hein (22:08) came in 14th, 15th, and 16th place at the invite. Two more Bees - Carlie Woolm (22:55) and Kylie Childers (22:58) - placed in the top 20 to help SAU to the team title. Kenzie Kaperka (23:39), Jayne Eilderts (24:28), Loryn Heil (27:13), and Eileen Elenteny (27:28) also competed for SAU. Crowder, Woolm, Childers, and Elenteny were also making their debut in the 5k collegiately. Smith (16s), Heil (57s), and Hein (2:02) set new PRs for the Crow Creek Course, and Hein also set an overall PR by 16 seconds.
St. Ambrose won with 34 points, followed by William Penn (51), Clarke (55), and Emmaus Bible (88).
SAU will race next at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational in Rock Island, Ill. on September 30th.