Left hungry after a third place OAC finish, the John Carroll University women's cross country team was eager to show the power of their one-two punch.

The NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional would offer the Blue Streaks just that opportunity.

Finishing in 20th and 25th place were junior Gabriella Kreuz and sophomore Emily Mapes, respectively. With times of 22:21.24 and 22:33.13, the duo became the first Streaks to earn All-Region status since 2007, and led JCU to an eighth place finish with 286 points.

“This might be the longest and fastest race we've had this year,” Kreuz said initially about the six-kilometer competition.
“It went out pretty controlled, the front group all kind of stayed together,” she continued. “That's the closest I've been to those top girls all season, and it pretty much stayed that way through the first mile. Second mile, people started to make their move, and I was still pretty much in there. Emily [Mapes] and I were working it in there.”

Kreuz then noted the shift in race tactics around the halfway mark: “After the two mile, that's really when the race started I think for most of us. The heat was starting to get to all of us. It's really nice out, and I don't think people were expecting that.”

“Basically that last 1000 [meters] was just a fight,” Kreuz concluded. “For me, it was just a fight to stay in position, because I was kind of gassed out. I didn't want to lose any places, so that's kind of how it happened.”

Kreuz then took time to reflect on her team's performance. “I think we did well. It's tough, we're tired, we've been fighting for a long time. There are a lot of teams with a lot of depth here, and we knew it was going to be a competitive region because they are taking five [teams] out of the region [to Nationals]. I think everyone just laid it out on the course. At this point, that's all that you can ask of yourself, so I'm proud of all of us. I think we did what we wanted to do.”

The third Blue Streak to cross the finish line was freshman Hanna Sterle, whose time of 23:48.27 was good for 71st place. Working together with Sterle throughout the race was junior Caroline Kapela, who finished in 77th place by running 23:58.53.
Freshman Angie Bucci and sophomore Jenny Vrobel were the next pair of Streaks to finish, racing 24:24.71 and 24:37.94 to land 102nd and 114th places, respectively.

Coming off a breakout performance at the conference meet, junior Taylor Whisler rounded out the John Carroll contingent on Saturday, turning in a time of 24:53.8 to finish in 128th place.

Graduate assistant Christin Handley was enthusiastic about the performance of the women's team, and is enjoying her transition from athlete to coach in University Heights.

“They did well. Gab [Kreuz] and [Emily] Mapes worked well together,” Handley commented. They worked really well at conference and it worked for them, so they tried pretty much the same thing today. It helps a lot having a one-two punch up top, to work together in front.

“Our [1-5] gap was a little bigger, but they fought the whole time,” Handley continued. “Ang [Bucci] came in too, she was also an alternate and she ran tough today. Everyone fought the whole race.”

“It's been awesome,” Handley said as she reflected on her John Carroll experience. “The team is really easy to get along with, the coaching staff is great. I'm definitely learning a lot this season. Every meet is like a new stepping-stone for me. I'm excited for track, too.”

When asked if there were any specific goals in mind for track, Handley outlined “finishing higher in the conference than we have in the past. The program continues to grow and improve, so every place we can finish higher is obviously a positive.”

Moving up in the conference at the indoor championship meet is very much within reach, as the squad that returns its top performers from last year missed out on sixth place by just one point.

Narrowly missing out on a berth in the National Championship meet next weekend, Kreuz and her teammates will take a short time off before preparing for the 2013 track and field campaign. “Track is going to be awesome,” she predicted. “I've convinced myself I can do the mileage. Here I am, so hey – I can hang with the endurance people. That's what I'm going to be about.”

With the 2012 cross country season in the books for the Blue Streaks, indoor track and field will get underway for the distance crew on January 19, 2013, when they will head to Geneva, Ohio for the SPIRE North Coast Track & Field Open.
Similar to the men's team, the women's team had a very impressive season. Three women earned All-OAC honors, and two earned All-Region honors. The team has now run two straight seasons finishing in the top three in the OAC and top ten in the region, and return all seven of the runners from this team next year.