By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
Winneconne, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – On a cloudy, wet day, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's cross country team held their own among against some elite competition, placing eighth out of 36 teams. Out of the teams in Midwest region, the women were fourth.
In the biggest race of the field, which included over 500 runners, strategy and execution were key.
"We wanted to focus on doing as little work as possible through the first two miles and finish strong for the women," said Coach Dan Schwamberger.
Once again, Callie Fischer (Jr. - Onieda, WI/Ashwaubenon) had a standout performance, finishing 16th overall in a time of 22:27.
In pursuit were a pair of Blugolds including Karen Gomez-Ruiz (So. - Chatfield, MN/Chatfield) and Samantha Slattery (Fr. - Waunakee, WI/Waunakee), who finished 48th (23:03) and 49th (23:03), respectively.
"I just knew that I wanted both a strong first mile and last 800 because those are mentally the hardest for me," said Slattery. "I felt pretty good going into the race which definitely boosted my confidence."
Close behind were five more Blugolds with great races. Morgan Marek (So – Muskego, WI/Muskego), Lexie Tremble (So. - Muskego, WI/Muskego), Maggie Louiselle (Fr. - Minneapolis, MN/Totino Grace), Lian Arzbecker (Jr. – Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee) and Gretchen Berg (Nashotah, WI/Arrowhead) all finished within a short span of 18 seconds.
Marek placed 72nd (23:20), Tremble 77th (23:24), Louiselle 94th (23:31), Arzbecker 102nd (23:36), and Berg 106th (23:38).
For Marek, it was her first race of the year.
"My personal goal going into this race was just to get back in the feel of racing," said Marek. "Since this was my first 6k back, coming off of an injury, I was looking to get out more conservative than normal and finish strong."
One meet at a time, the Blugold women continue make huge strides.
"It's our best race so far," said Schwamberger. "There are so many young runners in there. I was curious to see how'd they'd handle that big of a field, and they did really well."
The Blugold will race half their team this Friday, October 16, at the UW-Eau Claire Lowe's Creek 5k, which has been relocated from the City Wells. The other half of the roster will rest and keep training in preparation for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship in two weeks.
