Soccer, X-C rank nationally

Over the past weekend, both the women’s cross country and the women’s soccer teams competed at the NCAA Division III level. The women’s X-C team ran on Saturday in Winneconne, Wisconsin in the NCAA Division III Championships. The women’s soccer team competed Friday night under the lights against Christopher Newport University in the sectional semifinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament, the team’s first sectional appearance.

The 18th ranked women’s soccer team lost to No. 11 Christopher Newport at a 2-1 final score. “I think we got what we expected; a really tough, hard-fought match,” head coach Leigh Sears commented. “We knew they were going to come out and start fast in the second half. We fought to the end. We had our opportunities.”

The Flying Dutch finished their season 16-3-2, tying fourth for most wins in team history. “We have 12 seniors. We knew this was the year to do something special. It didn’t work out, but it was a good ride for sure,” Sears concluded on the season.

The women’s cross country team ran in a chilly, crowded race on Saturday, taking 24th of 32 teams in the NCAA Division III Championships with 594 points. Senior Emily Hamilton led the pack once again, finishing 78th with a 6k time of 22:23.3.

Junior Kelly Peregrine followed in 154th place only 32 seconds later at 22:55.8, coming in with junior Chelsea Miskelley at 159th in 22:58.4, junior Anna Frazee at 162nd in 22:59.4 and senior Sarah Neumar at 225th in 23:33.4 to round off the scoring runners. Senior Avery Lowe was close behind in 228th place in 23:34.9 and freshman Julia Robleski in 235th at 23:38.3.

The Flying Dutch placed 12 points ahead of 25th-place Calvin College, rising four spots in the final 1,000 meters of the race. Head coach Mark Northuis commented on the team’s stamina: “You have to finish strong. We did that again. We started well. We just didn’t get out in the middle section. It’s very difficult to do that in a race this size. It’s very competitive with two to three runners crossing the finish line together. In only a few seconds, you might lose 20 places.”