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By Ryan Schlehuber, ������Ƶ sportswriter��

It was a wild ending to an interesting season for the ������Ƶ Centurions women’s cross country��team as it competed in a snowy NJCAA Division II National Championships meet in Iowa Saturday, Nov. 8.��

As a team, the Centurions, led by first-year Head Coach Nate “Q” Van Holten, finished 22nd��overall, which, according to Holten, is the highest the team ranked all season. The team’s star runner,��freshman��Abby Davis (Vestaburg, Mich.), who is the Region 12 champion, finished in 12th��place individually, with a time of 19 minutes, 43.3 seconds.����

������Ƶ did not have a men’s team��represented��in��the race. The team’s lone full-time runner, Keegan Shafer (Vestaburg, Mich.) did not compete in the meet.��

The course at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in��Fort Dodge, Iowa, was blanketed by as��much��as four inches of snow, which provided an added challenge to the race, along with the top Division II runners across the country.��Arianna Mason of Paradise Valley Community College (Ariz.) won the individual race with a time of 18:48.9. Muskegon Community College’s Tatum Dykstra,��who’d��been a worthy rival to Davis all season, finished seventh with a time of 19:15.2.��

Team-wise, Mesa Community College (Ariz.) won with a score of 54, followed by Paradise Valley, 87, and Daytona State (Fla.), with 220. ������Ƶ finished 22nd��with a score of 606, while Muskegon finished fifth (228).����

Though the snow on the course was packed down from the��previous��race held that day, Davis said it still provided a great challenge for her and her fellow runners.��

“It was not deep to run in, but because of the snow, the mud and how cold it was, it definitely made me use more energy,” Davis said. “Considering the weather,��I think I��did OK. I was not prepared for it,��that’s��for sure.”��

Van Holten said the team had stayed at a hotel about an hour south of the course and did not have any winter weather there. It��wasn’t��until the team arrived at the race that they realized the elements would be playing a major��factor.��

“I knew we’d see some��snow��but I didn’t think it was going to be quite as heavy as it was,” Van Holten said. “From where we were staying to driving to the course, it was totally different.”��

Though she qualified for the All-American team (placing 15th��or higher), Davis was not satisfied with��her personal��outcome.��

“I think I let myself get a little too discouraged before my race,” she said. “The placement, for me, at a national��meet, is something��I’m��not��very proud��of. But that was��definitely the��toughest race I have ever been in.”��

Van Holten praised Davis and the results she had earned all season, including��at the��national championship. However, he admitted Davis is better than what the results show.��

“I probably agree with Abby, that she could’ve done better, but you can’t be disappointed when you finish as an All-American,” he said.��“I don’t know the answer as to what held her back,��but it was probably a combination of the weather, the course and, of course the mental side of things of going up against��so many good runners.”��

Unlike in��previous��races, Davis was never able to keep up with the front of the pack, according to Van Holten,��stating��she fell back as far as 19th��and had to work her way up to the 12th-place spot.��

“She was shivering a ton before the��race��and she doesn’t weigh a lot, so I know the weather impacted her,” Van Holten said.����

Davis said she��took in a lot��from this race, which she hopes will��benefit��her��in her next chapter of��cross country��racing, which she is hoping will be at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. She will graduate from ������Ƶ this spring��plans to��transfer to FSU, where she will pursue a science and arts degree.��

“From this experience, I learned a��lot��and I believe it will only help me in the future once I get thrown into conditions like this again,” she said.��

Other Centurions runners included:����

• Mickiah��Allbee (Vestaburg, Mich.), 22:11.3 (108th)��

• Mackenzie Zahm (Belding, Mich.), 22:15.4 (114th)��

• Hannah Reed (Cedar Springs, Mich.), 24:02.8 (203rd)��

• Lilyanrose��Martin (Ionia, Mich.), 24:41.5 (230th)��

• Joslyn Dickman (Alma, Mich.), 24:52.1 (239th)��

• Karly Fisk (Sand Lake, Mich.), 25:14.1 (253th)��

Van Holten said, overall, the national championship experience was a success, individually and team-wise.����

“I’m a��number��guys and I was crunching the numbers from the national��competition��and I felt we could’ve finished a little higher even, but, at the same time, I’m not disappointed in how we did at all.”��

������Ƶ finished 10 points behind both Potomac State (W. Va.) and Lake Land College (Ill.), which both finished with 596 points.����