In its first conference meet of the season, Saint Mary's met its goal by finishing fourth over the six-kilometer course at the MIAA Jamboree at Adrian College on Saturday.
The Belles' fourth-place finish was their best finish in a conference competition since 2010.
Saint Mary's coach Jackie Bauters said before the race that the team's goal was to secure a fourth-place finish out of the nine teams competing.
Calvin won the competition with an overall team score of 19 whiel Hope took second place with a score of 40. The two teams are ranked seventh and 19th, respectively.
Senior Jessica Biek had been the Belles' fastest finisher in every race this year, and she led the way once again on Saturday. Biek finished twelfth overall with a time of 23:45, and was the second runner besides a Calvin or Hope runner to cross the finish line.
Freshman Brittany Beeler followed closely behind Biek, earning an 18th-place finish with a time of 24:01.
The next Saint Mary's pack was about a minute behind, and was paced by sophomore Allie Danhof, who stopped the clock with a time of 25:06. Junior SameeChittenden finished next with a time of 25:15, and freshman Kathryn Marshall, who recently recovered from an injury last season, followed her with a finishing time of in 25:18. The pack let no one get between them, as Danhof, Chittenden and Marshall finished 28th, 29th and 30th respectively.
Sophomore Katelyn Dunn ran a 26:03 to finish in 33rd place for the Belles with a time of 26:03, and senior Colette Curtis finished 36th with a time of 26:22.
The Belles wrapped up the day with an 85th place finish by senior Sarah Thompson (27:41), an 87th place finish by Maggie Pacana (27:56), and 92nd place finish by sophomore Holly Higdon (28:21).
The Belles head right back into competition next Saturday at the Pre-Nationals meet, hosted by Hanover.
