2016 Blue Angels Cross Country Preview
Blue Angels Cross Country begins Sat. Sept. 3 at the Tom Barry Invitational.
MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary University Cross Country Team had one of their most successful seasons in school history last season. In their first year in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, the Blue Angels held their own, and even surprised teams in the region as they continually improved.
Last season, graduated Blue Angel Daniel Sherrer ('16) and current runners Natalie Guyette (Sr./Schiocton, Wis.) and Jori Galles (Jr./Waukesha, Wis.) continually finished with low times, and a few top ten individual finishes. The three finished strong at nearly every race. During the Sabercat Invite it all the hard work showed as Galles finished third, Guyette finished fifth and Sherrer finished 10th. It was the highest team finish in program history as they collectively placed second out of the six teams.
MMU continued to decrease their times as group, while nearly every Blue Angel seemed to cut their times from the race prior. Placing sixth out of 13 at the Warrior Invite, a race that hosts multiple NACC teams, during the midseason was a precursor to the success the team would have toward end the year.
MMU finished sixth at the Wisconsin Private College Championships out of the 15 invited teams. Then in their first ever NACC Championships finished sixth out of the 11 NACC schools. Jori Galles placed 14th out of the 120 NACC runners to earn herself an NACC All-Conference Award. Guyette was mere steps away from Galles finishing 16th with a final 24:51.8 time at the six kilometers race; nine seconds after Galles.
This season, the Blue Angels will bring back five of last year's letter-winners while adding three new runners. The upperclassmen core of Galles, Guyette, and Hayley Hove (Sr./Golden Valley, Minn.) look to return and continue to cut their times down.
The two seniors are both looking to finish their last seasons on the top of their respective games. In an interview with MtMaryAthletics.com, Hayley Hove said, "I'm most excited to go out with a bang, this is my last season, this is my last year and I'm prepared to just do the best I can and have my best season ever."
The seniors agree that this will have to be their best season. Senior Natalie Guyette commented, "I'm really excited to be able to go into it knowing exactly what I want to see out of myself as a result and knowing what I'm capable of. [sic] I'm really motivated to do my best this year."
The Blue Angels will head to the Tom Barry Invitational Sat. Sept. 3 to begin the 2016 season. The race features 10 teams from across the region and will be held in Green Bay, Wis. beginning at 11:00 AM. Stay up to date with all the MMU race results here at mtmaryathletics.com.
Returners
Natalie Guyette, (Sr./Shiocton, Wis.)
2015 Best: 5k (20:42.7) 6k (24:11.9)
Jori Galles, (Jr./Waukesha, Wis.)
2015 Best: 5k (20:33.31) 6k (24:30.4)
Hayley Hove, (Sr./Golden Valley, Minn.)
2015 Best: 5k (22:40.5) 6k (27:09.0)
Christina Ishaq, (So./Milwaukee, Wis.)
2015 Best: 5k (22:44.5) 6k (26:23.6)
Carlie O'Donnell, (So./Sharon, Wis.)
2015 Best: 5k (26:07.8) 6k (30:44.4)
New Comers