University of West Alabama

This season has been another strong one for the St. Catherine University cross country team. With just one meet left before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships on Nov. 1, the Wildcats hoped to have a strong performance at the Seven Sisters Championships Saturday in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Thanks to the solid running of first-year Mariah Stout (Bellevue, Idaho/Wood River), the Wildcats raced to a sixth-place team finish. For her efforts, Stout has been named the Wildcat Athlete of the Week. 

First-year Stout has emerged as the Wildcats' top runner this season finishing first for the team in four races this season. Saturday, Stout narrowly missed an All-Seven Sisters finish in the top-10 as she raced out to 12th-place overall with a personal record (PR) time of 23:45. Her time was not only a PR, but is now the fifth-fastest time in program history. Stout was just one second behind the 11th-place runner from Smith College and just over 20 seconds from the 10th-place finisher also from Smith. 

Stout has had two PR times this season that rank in the top-25 with her most recent coming nearly 16 faster than her top-10 time at the UW-River Falls Falcon Invitational where she palced ninth individually. This weekend's finish was Stout's third top-15 placing at a race this season – she was 15th a week ago at the Wildcats' home 4k invite. 

Stout and the Wildcats return to action in two weeks Saturday, Nov. 1 at the MIAC Women's Cross Country Championships at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul. Race time is slated for 3:15 p.m. Additional meet information can be found on the MIAC Championships site.