RAPID CITY, S.D– The Colorado Christian University women's cross-country team took on a competitive field at the RMAC Championships in South Dakota this morning. The Cougars came away with several strong individual performances and several things to learn from. Although the day did not go perfectly, the Cougars gained valuable momentum and experience against some of the top competition that they will see again in a couple of weeks at the regional meet.

The women's race went out hard as the ladies battled the tight turns and an early narrow bunch up of the lead pack. The Cougars pressed as they knew they could get trapped by the tight turns early on. As the ladies came through 2k (1.2 miles), they stayed close with Ava Greenwell, Grace McDevitt, and Kaylie Bookout, only a few seconds apart.

As the race continued, we saw the field slow down some as the course had tight turns, forcing the ladies to move up slowly. Bookout took the middle of the race as she maintained her stride through the middle of the race and finished 1^st for the Colorado Christian University ladies, pulling her teammate Grace closely behind. When asked about the race, Bookout said, "I was proud of myself for staying locked in; the race felt as though I was pedaling to the metal the entire time, but I did not let myself settle, which I was proud of". Bookout crossed the finish line with a time of 23:22 in 65^th place.

Grace McDevitt followed right behind in 66^th place and a time of 23:27, a 34 second PR for the sophmore. Ava Greenwell was third for the Cougars, finishing in 72^nd place with a time of 23:51.

Aeva Decker would similarly have a strong day, racing to a new personal best herself. Decker crossed the line in 24:36 for a 93^rd place finish, a 21 second PR for the true freshman. Mari Calene finished out the scoring for the Cougars, crossing the line in 24:49 for a 97^th place finish.

The ladies fought till the end; although they did not quite achieve their race plan, they closed out the day with an 11^th place finish. The Cougar ladies showed patience and perseverance as they raced against some of the best competition in Division II.

The Cougars will see action again as they look ahead to Regionals, scheduled for November 21st in Lubbock, TX.