Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Notre Dame Invitational
Cross Country Places 10th At Notre Dame Invitational
October 01, 2010 | Cross Country
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - - Led by a third-place finish from senior Ali Bishel (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton H.S.), the Ball State cross country team placed 10th (261 points) among 19 teams in the Notre Dame Invitational Gold Race.
Bishel finished the 5K course with a time of 17:48, just off her season-fast pace of 17:44 set two weeks ago at the Indiana Intercollegiates (Sept. 17).
West Virginia's Katie Gillespie and Sarah-Anne Brault were the only two racers ahead of Bishel in the 161-runner field, finishing with times of 17:24 and 17:30, respectively.
Overall, the Cardinals were the second-best team from the Mid-American Conference in the race, defeating league rivals Buffalo (12th / 277 pts.) and Northern Illinois (16th / 417 pts.), while finishing behind Western Michigan (5th / 169 pts.).
Oakland University won the meet with 91 points, followed by West Virginia (104) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (115). A complete list of team results can be found in the attached PDF.
Redshirt sophomore Madeline Goheen (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.) was BSU's second-fastest runner, placing 56th overall with a season-best time of 19:05.
Also scoring for the Cardinals were senior Kelsey Nielsen (Bremen, Ind./Bremen H.S.) in 63rd (19:10), senior Brittany Ade (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.) in 67th (19:13) and sophomore MaryKate Mellen (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City H.S.) in 72nd (19:16). All three efforts were season-bests.
Rounding out Ball State's entrants into the race were redshirt sophomore Christine Talhelm (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central H.S.) in 89th (19:35), freshman Tiffany Cange (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville H.S.) in 115th (20:02), sophomore Allison Blanck (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central H.S.) in 127th (20:18) and freshman Esther Tirado (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson H.S.) in 134th (20:45). All four of their efforts were also season-bests.
The Ball State cross country team competes in its final tune-up for the Mid-American Conference Championships in two weeks, when it travels to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Oct. 16 pre-national race which is slated for an 11 a.m. start. The MAC Championships will be held Oct. 30 in Kalamazoo, Mich.
