Smith eyes national title after regional win

This weekend, the CSB cross country team competed in the North Regional meet. The team placed sixth overall, the highest team finish since 2013. Junior Fiona Smith earned the title of individual Regional Champion for the second year in a row. Smith’s goal for the race was to place as high as she could while saving her legs for the national meet that takes place this upcoming weekend.

“Looking at my mile, two mile and three mile splits during the race, I was pretty surprised at how fast my times were since I wasn’t intending to [set a personal record],” Smith said.

Overall, Smith was pleased with her performance.

“It was a four-second PR for me, so I was very happy with that while also feeling like I didn’t have to go quite all out,” Smith said.

Smith led the race from start to finish and became the first athlete in CSB history to win back-to-back individual titles in school record times. Junior Annie Kiolbasa also earned All-Region honors with her 34th place finish. Kiolbasa tied her personal best time despite the cold conditions in the upper 20s, with a windchill of 16 degrees. She got off to a strong start, setting her up for success for the entirety of the race.

“The course at St. Olaf takes some sharp turns at the beginning, so I knew I needed to go out hard to avoid getting boxed in at the start. I felt really strong the first mile, and that helped me get into a good position for the rest of the race,” Kiolbasa said.

Along with Smith and Kiolbasa, the other CSB runners that ran at Regionals included junior Elise Yeager, junior Bridget Tetmeyer, sophomore Kalli Smith, first-year Eva Creighton and first-year Mary Kenney.

“I was very focused the whole time, and every time I felt like giving up, I was able to get back into it and keep pushing,” Kenney said. “After Saturday’s meet, I felt proud of my effort and the way I competed.”

The team worked together during the race and succeeded in their goal to finish close together.

“I could see Bridget the whole race and she motivated me every time I saw her. Also, Eva and Kalli were pretty close to us, too, which was amazing for our team,” Kenney said.

The team went into the meet hoping to finish in the top five teams, which would have likely secured them a spot at Nationals. Unfortunately, the team did not make it into the championship meet. Despite not qualifying for nationals, the team is proud of their effort at regionals.

“They ran strong races and gave what they could on Saturday. The other exciting factor is we do have everyone back next year. We are excited for the future,” head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue said.

The regional meet concludes the season for every CSB runner except Fiona Smith. The NCAA Division III Cross Country National Meet will take place this weekend in Lansing, Mich. The team visited East Lansing earlier in the season, so Smith has experience racing the course.

“It’s a fast course and a great spectator course, so the atmosphere is gonna be crazy fun as all national meets are. There’s definitely something special about cross country nationals,” Smith said.

Smith’s best finish at a national meet has been third, and she is looking to better that this year. This will not be an easy feat considering the level the competition the national meet presents.

“The top ranked individual, Kassie Parker, is a sixth-year from Loras, and she has been pretty untouchable all season. I hope to stay with her during the race as long as possible and challenge her the best I can,” Smith said.

Overall, the team had an impressive season.

“I am very proud of my teammates and how hard they have all worked this season,” Kiolbasa said.