SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sophomore
Emily Johnson led the Omaha cross country team to an eighth-place finish at the Augustana Twilight on Friday night.
Johnson took 13th in the huge field of 277 runners with a 5K time of 18:14.21. It's the third time in seven career meets that Johnson has led the team in scoring.
"Emily ran a stellar race to kick off the season," said cross country head coach
Cliff Cisar. "She put herself in the top 30 right off the bat and continued to use her race prep to pick off runners one by one throughout the last 3k.
"The team rose to the occasion by filling new roles after the graduation of four seniors last year," Cisar added. "The chase pack of
Annie Catania,
Anita Jenkins,
Ivanna Uribe, &
Heidi Hall worked very well together and executed our race plan effectively throughout the back half of the race. All finished within :20 of each other."
The Mavericks finished with 210 points. South Dakota won the meet with a score of 24. Nebraska took second with 45 points while host Augustana was third with 103.
Catania was second on the team and 56th overall with a time of 19:35.52, just edging out Jenkins who finished right behind at 19:36.82.
Uribe, a junior college transfer, was fourth on the team and 69th overall with a time of 19:45.09, and freshman Hall rounded out the scoring with a time of 19:51.95, good for 73rd.
"I'm thrilled with our performance today and look forward to the next couple weeks of preparation."
Omaha returns to action at the Woody Greeno Invitational at Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 15.
