Des Moines, Iowa - The Central Methodist women's cross country team placed fifth at the 2022 Heart of America Cross Country Champioships Saturday morning in Des Moines, Iowa. 

The championship featured 108 total runners from 13 different institutions from around the conference. Central earned a fifth place standing with 137 total points, three whole slots better than their eighth place finish in 2021.

Benedictine won the women's championship with 29 total points, as they placed all five runners in the Top 10. Mount Mercy finished second with 106 points, followed by MidAmerica Nazarene (113 points), and Grand View (120).  

Katherine Bangert was Central's highest placer in the 5K, finishing 18th with a time of 20:00.72. Kjirsten Guilford followed in 27th with a total time of 20:42.22. 

Isabella Ross (33rd, 20:55.60), Morgan Miller (39th, 21:10.64), and Madeline Wieseman (42nd), 21:18.68) rounded out Central's top five runners. Dayana Montenegro and Yanira Paninka also ran for the Eagles. 

To view the complete results of the championships, please click here. 

To view photos from the championship, please click here. 

#TakeFlight