Hillsboro, Kan. - Tabor College Women's Cross Country runner senior Christina Addison (Valley Center, Kan.) competed this past Saturday at the 2009 NAIA National Cross Country meet held in Vancouver, Wash.
Addison finished in 194th place out of 330 runners with a time of 20:34. Her time was also good for 6th among KCAC runners after finishing 9th two weeks ago at the KCAC conference meet.
Addison qualified for the race by finishing as one
of the top six runners at the KCAC conference meet who were not apart
of the winning cross country team.
"It rained throughout the week and most of Friday, so the course was pretty wet," Said Head Coach Dan Swaney. "There were a few spots that were really muddy but Christina said they really didn't affect her that much. They weren't real big and it was possible to swing wide and get past most of the mud without having to go through it.
"She came through the first mile only five seconds slower than she did at conference, which probably took more effort today," added Swaney. "I think this was the largest race I've ever been to and there were so many runners that I couldn't find Christina a couple times and a few other times only found her in the pack just as she went past me.
"It was difficult to tell how she was doing after the first mile because I didn't see any other mile markers and it was impossible to know if her position had changed," he said."All I could do was run from one point on the course to the next and cheer for her as often as I could. I know it wasn't easy out there and that she gave it her best so I'm proud of her."
