NOTRE DAME, Ind.—Franciscan University's Baron cross country team placed 23 out of 31 and Lady Barons placed 23 out of 33 at the University of Notre Dame's 32nd annual National Catholic Championship this Friday, competing with schools from all NCAA divisions.
"We had a lot of great individual performances, but we are still coming together as a team," said head coach Daniel Kuebler. "This was a step in the right direction but we still have a long way to go."
For the men, Bill Jones placed 13 out of 255 in the 8K finishing in 25:05. Coming in second for Franciscan was Kevin Leroy, earning the 105th spot overall at 26:40. Freshman Morgan Gilcrest and Michael Mclaughlin placed 183th (27:57) and 213th (29:07), respectively. Christian Ohnimus and David Williems clipped in for the Barons at 29:28 and 30:13, respectively.
Nicole Krajewski was the first Franciscan runner to cross the 5K finish line for the Lady Barons, placing 40th overall out of 272 with a time of 18:42. Next for the Lady Barons was Theresa Evans placing 122th in 19:48.
Sara Mueller placed 146th in 20:11 and Anna Hogan placed 220th in 21:16. Claire Bach was 217th (21:31) with teammate Daneille Bonneson not far behind in the 221st spot (21:36). Kate Paulmann scored for the Barons finishing in 22:06. Emily Kraudel, and Therese Kerin also ran finishing in 22:18 and 23:58, respectively.
Out of the participating teams not affiliated with Division I, the Barons placed 13th out of 20 with Bill Jones placing first. The Lady Barons placed also took 13th out of 22 with Nicole Krajewski placing ninth.
The cross country team heads to the Saint Vincent Invitational this Friday, Sept. 24.
