ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Blue Angel Cross Country team competed in its first ever evening race Friday afternoon at Saukie Golf Course near Rock Island, Ill. In the end, Mount Mary placed 32nd out of 38 schools with runners in the race.

Friday's competition—featuring 38 schools from community colleges to Division I programs—provided some conditions head coach Eugene Miranda said were very different from what his runners had experienced previously. With temperatures in the mid-80s, some runners struggled with the unseasonable heat that affected their overall finish. Add in a shortened roster due to a last-minute schedule edit, the Blue Angels used all five finishers to qualify for a team score.

Freshman Hayley Hove (Golden Valley, Minn.) recorded Mount Mary's top time, finishing the 6K race at 27:44.8, good for 160th place overall. Senior Vanessa Schellinger (West Bend, Wis.) just missed the 28-minute mark with a time of 28:14.7 that came in 172nd place.

The race was especially chosen by Miranda as it is the same course Mount Mary will run for the NCAA Midwest Regional competition in mid-November.

Mount Mary will continue a month full of Saturday races, starting this Saturday morning at the Warrior Invitational. The meet, hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College at Greenfield Park in West Allis, will be the meet closest to Mount Mary's campus. With a full team expected to compete, the Blue Angels are looking to build off last year's eighth place finish—its best of the 2012 season.