It was a challenging but rewarding day for the Charger women's cross country team Friday afternoon.
With intense heat and fierce competition, Hillsdale took home a fifth place finish at the 21-team Spartan Invitational, where runners raced through the ups and downs of the Forest Akers golf course. Hillsdale finished with a point total of 175, finishing behind Grand Valley State and three Division I programs. Michigan State took first with a score of 22, followed by the Lakers (50), Central Michigan University (160) and Ball State (163).
Sophomore Maryssa Depies lead the pack for Hillsdale taking 14th place out of 232 competitors. She finished in 22:11.3. Following behind her was junior Arena Lewis in 20th with a time of 22:26.5.
Senior Allysen Eads was fourth to finish for the Chargers in 24:12.8.
Sophomores Megan Poole and Lauren Peterson had a great day, each chasing down personal bests for a 6k race. Poole finished in 88th place in 24:19.0, whose previous best was 25:40. Right behind her was Peterson in 24:23, who shaved nearly a whole minute off of her previous record.
Words and Photo: Calli Townsend