By Pat Tintle
Staff Writer
Last weekend, the Bonnies took on both Niagara and Canisius in their first meet of the season in Buffalo. Scoring 28 points, the women’s cross country team won its first-ever Little Three Invitational Championship. The Bonnies have been participating in the invitational for 30 years, but were never able to take the top spot before last Friday.
“We knew we were going to be competitive,’ said Head Coach Bob Macfarlane. “They have worked year-round for this, not only during the regular season but also starting in the off- season.”
The Bonnies hosted the same invitational last year at the St. Bonaventure Golf Course, but were unable to win on their home course.
“Just by their demeanor and by their attitude, you could see that they were more focused this past year,” Macfarlane said. “We’ve had great leadership in
Hannah (Robinson), and a great addition to the program was Kady Weisner.”
Weisner, a senior, finished in second place overall and set a new personal best time with 19:08.8. Sophomore Kerry Caher came in third place overall with a 19:15.1 time. Junior captain Hannah Robinson placed in sixth with a time of 19:33.2.
“My race strategy was to basically go out the first mile and get a feel for how the top girls were running,” Weisner said. “Last year, I went out a little too quickly, and I paid for it in the end. I tried to increase my effort every mile and have a strong finish. In reality, it doesn’t matter who is in first at mile one, what matters is where you are by mile three, and overall I was very pleased with how it worked out.”
“Our win last week shows that this group of girls includes some of the most committed and talented runners to have competed for St. Bonaventure,” junior runner Hannah Robinson said.
A strong and tactical first mile made the team realize that they had a chance to take the top prize.
“Every girl ran a very smart race,” said Weisner. “Running is a lot of strategy and I think that we used our heads really well, especially in the beginning of the race.”
The upperclassmen gave the team an extra boost going into the race MacFarlane said.
“They stepped up big time,” Macfarlane said. “They’re the ones who have to carry the stick, they’re the one’s who have to show class and how everybody should be working.”
Macfarlane, who has been head coach for three years, has seen his young players from three years ago turn into leaders.
“There’s a trust factor now,” said Macfarlane. “They understand what they need to do to be a better runner and a better teammate.”
tintlepj11@bonaventure.edu
