Cross country season is up and running now as Patty Vavra’s team got its first taste of competition when they traveled to Fayetteville, Ark, on Friday, Sept. 2 to compete in the Arkansas Invitational. 

Two of the veterans on the team proved why they are the leaders thus far, as both Marlee Tegenkamp and Rachel Schrader turned in Top-10 finishes against Division-I opponents. Tegenkamp clocked in at 14:53.1, with her teammate Rachel Schrader finishing a few seconds behind her at 15:09.3.

The next best finisher for the Lions was freshman Codie Fritchie at 15:53.5, a gap of time that Head Coach Patty Vavra says, “must be improved.”

“We have to make sure to close the gap between our runners and get better at running as a pack,” she said. “This is a good base start for us, gave us a chance to run for competition rather than just practice, we will build off of this meet, make changes and strive for success in our upcoming meets,” Vavra said.  

The Lions have this week off as they will be preparing for their home meet, the Southern Stampede on Saturday, Sept. 17. 

“The off week provides us with the opportunity to get some good training in and get ourselves prepared to put on a good showing at the Stampede,” Vavra said. 

She also mentioned that the “pride factor” is huge when hosting an event.

“This is such a great event for high school and college athletes to see how they match up against good competition,” she said. 

“This will be our first true stepping stone for us this season; we will try to build momentum from this meet that will carry us through the season and turn in a successful season.”