The Ball State University cross country team finished off its season at the Great Lakes Regional on Saturday at the Indiana Cross Country Course in Bloomington.
The Cardinals finished 12th as a team with 359 points. Individually, junior Rose Lehe finished first for the Cardinals in 37th place with a time of 22:17.2 and coming close behind in 38th place was freshman Vanessa Gilbert with a time of 22:20.3.
"Rose and Vanessa pretty much ran together the whole race," coach Sue Parks said. "Then Rose gradually pulled away."
Senior Helen Kibby, junior Amanda Ponsot and senior Nicole Hartford finished in 76th, 81st and 127th, respectively, to round off the scoring five.
The Great Lakes Regional featured many of the best teams across the country. Before the meet, Parks was hoping for the Cardinals to place in the top 10.
"This was the toughest regional in the country," Parks said. "Had we had a great day a top ten finish could have been in our reach. The race was decent, but not great. This was not exactly what I was hoping for."
Michigan and Notre Dame both advanced to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute with automatic bids. However, Parks feels that a total of six or seven teams from the Great Lakes Regional could be at the Championships. Wisconsin finished third, followed by Butler, Michigan State, Marquette, and Indiana.
The Cardinals top runner, Lehe, has finally figured out why she has not been running as well as she has earlier in her career. Lehe has been struggling with asthma all season, Parks said.
"All season long, we were a little shorthanded," she said. "At a meet like this we need to be running on all cylinders."
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