Mason City, IA – The Lady Warriors cross country team dropped down to race a 5k at the Trent Smith Invitational hosted by North Iowa Area Community College Friday evening, after having raced a 6,000-kilometer distance for the last 3 meets in a row. Just as they have nearly all season, the team was paced by sophomore Kaylee Ford.
Ford broke the tape in 21 minutes and 4 seconds, finishing 13th overall in the race. Ford was closely followed by freshmen Halley Wilmes and Morgan Lawson who finished 23rd & 25th in 22:08 and 22:16, respectively. Sophomore Traci Ervin rounded out the day for the Warriors with a season-best time of 24:22.
Coach Brent Ewing said after the race, "Dropping down to a 5k was a nice change of pace for our women. We did a great job of getting into a good position the first mile and finishing hard. Pressing through the middle of the race is something that we will continue to work on. Halley Wilmes had a breakout race, finishing second for us. Halley has only run a handful of cross country races in her entire life. It's been a lot of fun to see her find herself as a cross country runner."
The Lady Warriors will march forward into the postseason as they are slated to compete in the Region XI Cross Country Championships on October 26 in Bettendorf, Iowa. Race time is set for 4 p.m.