COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Sometimes Derek Fey likes to push his student-athletes outside of their comfort zones.

The College of Saint Mary cross country coach took some of his runners to the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs 2022 XC Open Friday. The event featured many top-notch Division 1 programs and is run at Cherokee Ridge Golf Course – 6,371 feet above sea level.

And … the course is a 6K instead of the sport's normal 5K race.

"We were running short-handed, but we've had a lot of fun getting to know one another," Fey said. "Running at altitude is never easy, but our ladies ran a tough race. They will be mentally prepared for our conference meet – that's for sure."

Chloe Inhelder (JR/Aurora, Colo.) had CSM's best finish with a time of 25:19.02 for 40^th place individually.

Teammate Jocelyn Farhar (SO/Broomfield, Colo.) stopped the clock in 26:36.80, while Corinne Mead (FR/Elkhorn, Neb.) and Madeline Krause (JR/Omaha, Neb.) finished back to back with times of 28:19.06 and 28:22.68, respectively. Also for CSM, Autumn Simons (SO/Petersburg, Neb.) posted a time of 29:15.24; Kiley Craft (FR/Fargo, N.D.) finished in 30:04.03; Alivia Austin (FR/Papillion, Neb.) ran the race in 31:03.49 and Emma Lee (FR/Council Bluffs, Iowa) had a time of 37:46.98.

Christine Nisoli of New Mexico won the race in a time of 22:43.07.

The Flames are off until Nov. 5 when they will compete in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships. That race will be held at the University of Jamestown and will start at 10:45 a.m.