LAWRENCE, Kan. - A solid performance by freshman Megan Greener paced Central Methodist to an 11th place finish at the NAIA Pre-National Meet Saturday afternoon. Greener completed the 5-kilometer course in a time of 19:12.51, good for 27th place overall.

Sophomore Emily Nealley finished two spots behind Greener in a time of 19:13.61 and junior Hailey Breusch crossed the line in 35th at 19:22.03. Seniors Adriana Romero (20:04.67, 88th overall) and Elise Schreiber (20:46.10, 126th) rounded out the Eagle scorers.

"I was really proud of them," said head coach Chris Sandefur. "They took some early risks and that put them in a position to have some success."

Sandefur said that his team did not finish the race as well as they started, but added that he was confident in his team's ability to develop a strong finish with continued practice. "If we continue to work hard and push in practice, they're going to be ready for the challenge at the end of the race."

CMU finished one spot behind Baker (Kan.), which is expected to be their main competition as they attempt to claim a conference title next month, but ran closer to the Wildcats than they did two weeks ago at the Missouri Southern Stampede.� Sandefur said that he is confident his team has a good shot to claim the conference championship. "We feel very confident. We're a team definitely known to improve as the year goes on."

The Eagles will have another opportunity to prove themselves against quality competition Oct. 26 in Winfield, Kan., when they toe the line for the NAIA Mid-States Classic.