Now Ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, the women’s cross country team started out of the gate running into the season with two first-place finishes and one second-place finish.
Their start with seven women in the top 20 for the Wildcat Invitational set the Maddawgs up for a strong first meet. Winning by 70 points, the team was led with first and second-place individual finishes by freshman Jaynie Halterman and senior Ahna Neideck, closely followed by sophomore Noel VanderWall in fourth.
Halterman’s first collegiate race saw her out in front, something she did not anticipate.
“I didn’t have super high expectations for myself in that race, so I did surprise myself a little bit,” she said. “But I think it’s important for me to try and push the boundaries for how I felt and how I fit in the team.”
Halterman said running with Neideck and VanderWall was a great encouragement, and said it was easy to trust them with the race and worry less throughout it.
In addition to team accolades, Halterman received three Crossroads League Runner of the Week awards after her first-place finishes at all three of the meets Taylor has competed in since the start of their season. At their second meet of the year, the Gans Creek Classic, Halterman also set the school record in the 6k with a time of 20:56.7.
At the Gans Creek Classic, the team placed second only to Division II, Fort Hays State University by two points.
While at this meet, the Maddawgs set a new team time record of 1:48:40.6 at the Gans Creek Classic 6k race, combining the times of Halterman, VanderWall, Neideck, senior Audrey Brinkruff, and sophomore Sam Patterson.
This course will also serve as the NAIA National Championships course, on November 22.
This was the first time VanderWall had ever experienced racing a Nationals course before the National Meet while being at Taylor, a feeling she described as “exciting.”
“As we were doing the pre-race on the course, it was super exciting to think about Nationals, and kind of prepare for that,” she said.
VanderWall said the team has learned a lot from their experience at Gans Creek, specifically improving the middle of their race. Through their last training block, she said they worked in double thresholds, and workouts at the Taylor Cross Country Farm to be mindful in the middle portion.
At the Ray Bullock Invitational, the women’s team placed first out of 11, winning their sixth Bullock title in eight years. Winning by 42 points, the Maddawgs took seven out of the top ten spots at the meet. Halterman, VanderWall, and Patterson placed in the top five with times of 21:52.6, 22:28.3, and 22:45.8 respectively. Following closely behind were junior Katilyn Burden, Brinkruff, senior Abby Mays and junior Rebekah Firestone.
Head coach Quinn White commended the team on their excellent communication skills and depth. He said their team is a close-knit community, and is able to run free and focus on joy, a word they have been focusing on throughout the season. They try not to focus on joy, White said, in regards to just running.
“Although the word is important to our running, we try to be joyful in all aspects of our lives,” he said. “To be joyful and have a heart of gratitude helps us to run free. We find joy in the process of pursuing our goals.”
Starting the season ranked 4th in the preseason polls, they have moved up to only one point behind No. 1 Milligan. Undefeated against NAIA competition, the team will have the opportunity to compete one more time before the Crossroads League Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge.
