University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Tori Neubauer Invitational
Seven Gophers Run Season-Best Times
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 18, 2014
ETTRICK, Wis. - Led by graduate student Marnie Kinnaird in 24th place, all seven Golden Gophers ran season-best times as Minnesota raced at the Tori Neubauer Invitational hosted by UW-La Crosse Saturday morning at Ettrick Golf Club.
Kinnaird dropped over 40 seconds off her previous season best to lead Minnesota for the first time in her career, clocking a time of 23:01.24. Redshirt sophomore Melissa Cabak ran 23:12.32 for 36th overall and redshirt junior Hannah Trasser finished in 23:23.06 for 44th overall to round out the Gophers' top three.
"Marnie was kind of waiting for a little break-out race," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "It's always hard transitioning into a new program after [running at Occidental] for four years, and she obviously has talent. It's just taken her a little time to figure out the new system. It was great to see her have a great effort today and be up toward the front."
Two redshirt freshmen had notable performances as Naomi Ollila clocked a career-best 6K time of 23:42.17, and Nicole Heitzman made her debut competing in Maroon & Gold and finished her first collegiate 6K in 24:06.75.
Redshirt junior Lauren Domski (23:36.70) and redshirt freshman Violet Weibel (23:52.84) also ran season-best times for the Gophers.
"This group is relatively young as Naomi, Violet and Nicole are all redshirt freshmen," Hopkins said. "They're still figuring out how to race and how to compete, and I think they're doing a great job of taking steps forward. You just have to keep working, especially at this time of year when things get busy with school and other things going on.
"There are still opportunities to run fast. What we talked about today was staying focused because what they do over the next couple weeks is going to spring-board them into track, which is really important for their own confidence and mentally just being in a good spot to end the season."
Iowa Central's Viola Kebenei won the individual crown in 21:30.67. Host UW-La Crosse won the team title with 61 points, followed by Winona State (115), College of Saint Benedict (175), University of St. Thomas (181) and Minnesota (227) as the top five at the 30-team meet.
The Gophers return home to Les Bolstad Course to host Jack's Twilight Run at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 25. This year marks the seventh annual 6K race in honor of late Minnesota equipment manager Jack Johnson. The race is open to the public and participation is free, but donations are encouraged.
Gopher Results
24. Marnie Kinnaird, 23:01.24
36. Melissa Cabak, 23:12.32
44. Hannah Trasser, 23:23.06
61. Lauren Domski, 23:36.70
65. Naomi Ollila, 23:42.17
79. Violet Weibel, 23:52.84
98. Nicole Heitzman, 24:06.75
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Players Mentioned
