Competing without its No. 2 runner, the No. 8 ranked Barton Community College women's cross country team finished seventh today in the Black race of the FHSU Tiger Open held at Sand Plum Nature Trail in Victoria, Kansas. Lydia Mato took home the title easily winning the 5k race as three Lady Cougars placed within the Top-33 of the 133 competitor race.
Mato lead from start to finish in claiming the title in 17:44.50 and over a minute faster than then nearest competitor. Not being pushed throughout the race Mato's time was well slower than last week's school record 17:15 but still ranks in the top five and would have finished third in the Gold race held later in the day.
With the absence of the Lady Cougars' No. 2 runner Asha Douglas to sickness, sophomore Holly Pierce stepped up placing 12th in a time of 19:50.8. Kaitlynn Tuey, who missed last week's Chile Pepper Festival, ran a season best 20:47.3 capturing the thirty-third spot in the individual standings. Fellow Great Bend native Mariah Stein also had a strong day setting a personal best 21:41.4 as the freshman finished in 71st place. Julee McAtee cracked the top-100 with a strong push down the stretch to edge into the 99th spot with a 23:19.0 while Emilykate Hopson-Boyd finished 113th in 24:26.6.
With a hard week's worth of training behind them, Barton will spend the next few weeks preparing for the Region VI Championships to be held Saturday, October 31, in Overland Park, KS.