University of West Alabama

The St. Catherine University cross country team has raced out to an impressive start to the 2013 season thanks in large part to the strong performances of junior Ailee Larson (Lutsen, Minn.). With a historic run at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Meet Saturday afternoon at the U of M Golf Course, Larson has earned her second Wildcat Athlete of the Week honor. 

In a race with 412 individual runners on a tough course that typically runs slower than most, Larson managed to turn in her second top-10 performance in as many races with a finishing time of 23:11.3. Her seventh-place performance was the top finish by a Wildcat runner in school history at the Griak Meet and was the third best by any Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) runner Saturday. Larson was 17 seconds faster than All-American Greta Sieve's time of 23:29 in 2009 when she placed 20th at Griak. 

Not only did Larson have a great individual perfomance, she anchored the Wildcats' to their best team finish at the Griak Meet since 2005 when the team also had a 16th-place finish in a smaller field with an average time of 25:59. The team averaged 25:08 to finish close to several competitive MIAC squads. 

Larson and the Wildcats return to action Friday as they compete at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational at 4 p.m. in Colfax, Wis.