10-12-2001
		XC competes at Notre Dame Seniors Justin Pfreunder, Dan Hoekstra, and Joel Kloostra lead the pack in the MIAA.

by jamie olthoff

Staff Writer

The women's cross country team met with success once again this past weekend, taking first place in the Gold Division of the Notre Dame Invitational. This is the only first place victory to be posted by the women's cross country team at the Notre Dame Invitational in Calvin's history.

Historically, the Notre Dame Invitational is a large meet, attracting prestigious Division I schools such as University of Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, and of course, Notre Dame. The teams are placed into one of two divisions. The majority of the Division I teams along with the top Division II and Division III schools race in the Blue Division; weaker DI schools are placed in the Gold Division with the remaining DII and DIII schools. A team's division is subject to change each year, depending on their performance in the previous season. While the men's teams have always been divided into two divisions, this is the first year the women have been split up in this fashion; until this season there had been only one division for the women's teams at the Notre Dame Invitational. Although they were placed in the Gold Division, the Calvin women proved that they are more than worthy of competing with the DI teams of the Blue Division.

True to form, the women posted another strong pack finish. Senior Erinn Boot led the way for Calvin, finishing sixth overall in 18 minutes, 28 seconds. She was closely followed by junior Rachel Baber (18:30), senior Lindsay Carrier (18:35) and sophomore Jessie Lair (18:37) who took eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively. Sophomore Sarah Hastings placed 15th overall in 18:46, and freshman Ashley Berner took 25th with a time of 19:06.

Coach Nancy Meyer was happy with the team's performance, but felt the team could have placed as high as ninth in the Blue Division, a very respectable finish among the DI teams they would have competed with. ``I would have taken the ninth if they had let us run in the Blue,'' she said. ``It would have been better competition for us.''

Following their performance this year, the Calvin women will more than likely be bumped up to the Blue Division next year.

What lies in the immediate future for the women's team? ``[We need to] stay healthy and keep the momentum going,'' Meyer said. Right now she is very happy with the team's consistency, as well as its wide range of talent. ``The placing within the pack varies from week to week, but that just shows we have good depth. Any one person can be hot on a particular day,'' she said. Baber, a transfer this year from Dordt College, credits another factor to the team's success as well: team unity. ``Being a team . . . is something we're doing a really good job at,'' she said. ``It seems like everyone is encouraging and I think that's a big part of the success we have.''