Fort Collins girls 3rd at cross country nationals

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Fort Collins cross country team has had a number of achievements this season, but none could be better than Saturday's impressive accomplishment.

The Lambkins finished third at the Nike Cross National meet with 147 points, after placing seventh the past two seasons.

"It was a pretty major achievement," Fort Collins coach Chris Suppes said. "The girls ran a very beautiful race against some tough competition."

The Lambkins, who went into the race ranked No. 4 in the nation by Dyestat.com, had three runners place in the top 60. Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.) claimed its fourth consecutive title with 74 points, while Saratoga (N.Y.) was second with 146.

Senior Rachel Viger led the way after finishing 35th with a time of 18 minutes, 30.9 seconds, while teammate Erin Hooker finished five spots later with a time of 18:38.7. Marci Witczak placed 46th with a time of 18:41.9 and Kirsten Follett was 62nd at 18:56.4.

"We are really happy," Viger said. "Things went really good; everybody ran a very good race. It is such a good feeling."