Something The Same, Something New

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/09/16)--- It was a tale of something the same and then something new at Concordia's second meet of the season. The top 2 finishers for the Cobbers at the MSUM Twilight Meet remained the same as the season opener but an old newcomer was the team's No.3 finisher as Concordia placed fourth at the second annual meet held under the lights at the Tri-City Soccer Complex in Moorhead.

Sarah Curran used the momentum from her second-place finish at the season-opening Cobber Invite last week to lead the team with a time of 15:07.6 over the 4K course. Her mark was good for a 22nd-place finish and was 46-seconds faster than her time at the same meet last year.

Brianna Gruenberg was the team's No.2 runner for the second straight week of the season. A week after finishing third at the Cobber Invite she covered the course in 15:23.4 and recorded a Top 30 finish at a meet littered with Division II athletes. She placed 30th and her time was 10.2 seconds faster than her mark in 2015.

Senior Kaya Baker made her 2016 season debut on Friday. The team's No.1 runner in 2015 had been slowed with an injury but started her final collegiate cross country season by posting a solid time of 15:45.0 and was in 38th place.

Freshmen Kara Andersen ran with Baker the entire race and was only 1.1 seconds behind Baker at the finish. She placed 39th with a mark of 15:46.1. She has now been in the top 5 for the Cobbers in both of her first two collegiate meets.

Maria West was not far off the pace set by Baker and Andersen. She was less than 5-seconds behind in a time of 15:50.1 and finished in 41st place. Last year West crossed the finish line in a time of 16:12.0 so her time in 2016 represents a 21.9-second improvement.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will head to Northfield next weekend to participate in their first away meet of the year. The Cobbers will compete in the St. Olaf Invite on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m.