University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHER WOMEN THIRD AT BIG TEN FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
10/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
The fifth-ranked Badgers easily won the title, scoring 25 points to outdistance Michigan and 17th-ranked Minnesota, which battled for the runner-up spot. The Wolverines edged the Gophers for the second spot, 95-98.
"We were a little disappointed," said Minnesota coach Gary Wilson of his team's finish after entering the meet as the second-ranked team in the conference. "Being three points away, there were a lot of places where we could have beat them, but Michigan had a great day."
Sophomore Erica Palmer led Wisconsin by claiming the individual title in 16 minutes, 46.93 seconds, almost 20 seconds ahead of sophomore teammates Erin Aufderheide, 17:06.54, and BethanyBrewster, 17:16.27.
Michniovaite, who finished third last year, ran a season-best time of 17:17.68 to earn first-team all-conference honors. Eggleston, 10th last year, was 13th in 17:44.23, earning second-team recognition again.
"Rasa ran great," Wilson said of his team's top runner, who has had to overcome iron deficiency this season. "I told her (after the Roy Griak Invitational) she just had to get better every week, not do anything fancy, and she's done that. She ran one of her best times ever and she's almost all the way back."
The remainder of Minnesota's scoring came from junior Corinne Nimtz, 23rd in 18:02.47; sophomore Victoria Moses, 27th in 18:08.60; and frosh Anita Menden, 31st in 18:15.20.
The Gophers other runners included junior Deborah Hudleston, 40th in 18:25.89; senior Minna Haronoja, 41st in 18:26.40; frosh Chrissy Eid, 44th in 18:28.35; and frosh Jill Field, 74th in 19:11.85.
"We got solid efforts from a lot of people today. It was just one of those days where one thing here or one thing there could have made a difference. We don't have much to complain about. I think we're in good shape. We're still a great team and I think we can be a top 15 team in the country."
Minnesota has a two-week break before returning to competition at the NCAA Midwest Regional, where Michniovaite is the defending champion, in Champaign, Ill.
Players Mentioned
