ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Franciscan Cross Country teams against 57 other teams to finish their season at the NCAA Division III Regional, hosted by Muhlenberg College.
"This was the biggest race we've ever been in," Head coach Dan Kuebler said. "This was the first time we've been in the Mideast regional, so it's the first time we've seen a lot of these teams."
Both the men's and women's teams had a successful day of exciting races and personal achievements. Senior, and team captain, Molly Chambers ran the last race of her Franciscan career with a great time of 24:53, while losing her shoe about a half mile into the race.
"That's her best time of the year and the fastest time of any of the women this season," Kuebler said. "I'm really proud of the way she finished, especially given that she ran her last 3 miles without her shoe. It was an excellent way to end her career here at Franciscan."
Chambers said she's extremely grateful to have been a part of Franciscan's cross country program throughout her college career, and is happy to have ended with such a great season.
"I'm just so thankful to run in thanksgiving for all the team has done for me in my four years," Chambers said. "It's just such an amazing team and we're so blessed to be able to do what we do."
Senior Joseph Schlueter also ran for Franciscan for his last time today, coming in fourth on the team.
"I'm really thankful for all my time here at Franciscan," Schlueter said. "It was a beautiful day today and we had a great race."
Other highlights of the day came from senior Claire Bach and sophomore Kate Porter. Both runners ended their season strong by beating their personal records. Junior Allison Huelseman came back from a recent injury and ran a strong time of 25:35.
Kuebler said that with only a few runners graduating, both teams should be able to have a roster of experienced runners in the next season. He looks forward to the next year with high hopes for the future.
"We've got a lot of runners back," Kuebler said. "We're really looking forward to next season."
