DULUTH – Desiree Budd had already proved herself as one of the top cross country runners ever at the College of St.

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

DULUTH – Desiree Budd had already proved herself as one of the top cross country runners ever at the College of St. Scholastica, but she didn’t rest on her laurels and obviously was not satisfied with the status quo.

She’ll finish as the best in school history.

After placing 18th in the NAIA national cross country meet two years ago and 43rd last year, Budd was the runner-up this past season, earning the Albert Lea High School graduate All-American honors for a second time.

Budd’s first-place time at the NAIA Mid-States Championship, 17:58, shattered her own school record of 18:10. It was one of five record-breaking performances for the two-time regional champion, who finished no lower than third in a race all season.

Budd called this year’s NAIA championship race at Kenosha, Wis., her best ever. Emilie Mondor of Simon Fraser University ran away with the title, winning in 17:24, and Budd outsprinted several runners down the stretch to narrowly take second in 18:15.

St. Scholastica placed 17th out of 28 teams in the national meet, completing the best cross country season in school history for the Saints, who won four invitationals, captured the conference championship and were nationally ranked for the first time in more than 20 years.