Larks show marked improvement in 4th place finish

The Hesston College women’s cross country team put up impressive individual and team times at the Tabor College (Hillsboro, Kan.) Invitational on Friday, Sept. 25. Competing against NCAA Div. II, NAIA and NJCAA talent, the Larks came away with a solid fourth place finish among nine schools.

Hannah Heidebrecht (Minneapolis, Minn.) placed fifth overall (73 total runners) and first among NJCAA athletes after she turned in a personal-best 20:08.32 in the women’s 5K. Rene Buckwalter (Wellman, Iowa) placed 17th with a personal-best time of 21:05.98, over 90 seconds better than she ran Sept. 12 in Hutchinson.

In fact, five Hesston runners enjoyed personal bests on the day. Madison Rickabaugh’s (Coldwater, Kan.) 21:41:12 was good for 26th overall, while Becky Jensen placed 28th with a time of 21:46.73. Eva Dwyer (Middlebury, Ind.) contributed with a 24:10.91, good for 43rd overall.

Hesston runners averaged 21:46.62. The Larks compete at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2 at Johnson County CC (Overland Park).