It was the Hillsdale College Chargers' turn to take back the title as the G-MAC Cross Country Champions. They seized that opportunity today to win the conference meet by three points, beating last year's champion, Walsh University.
Walsh finished second with 46 points, while Cedarville University took third with 74. The 6k race was held at the Laurel School-Butler Campus in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Three Chargers finished in the top 10, led by the dynamic duo of senior Arena Lewis and junior Maryssa Depies. They took second and third, respectively, less than half a second apart, both with new personal records. Lewis' time of 20:55.3 beats her previous best of 21:41.3, while Depies finished in 20:55.7, beating her previous best of 21:36.9. The two earned All-Conference First-Team honors.
Sophomore Sophia Maeda put together a great race today with a new PR of 21:18.4 to earn Second-Team All-Conference. After a tough last meet, she battled back to finish strong and secure ninth place overall for her team.
And freshman Gwynne Riley ran an insane race today that beat her previous best time in the 6k by nearly three minutes. She ran her first 6k earlier this season in 24:23.5, and today she finished 12th in the conference in 21:30.7, She beat two runners from Walsh, which was a key role in the three-point victory. She was also a member of the All-Conference Second Team.
Junior Christina Sawyer and sophomore Claire McNally finished 17th and 18th, respectively. Sawyer's time of 21:53.3 is a new PR, while McNally's 21:53.9 is just shy of the PR time she ran at Notre Dame a couple weeks ago.
Seniors Kate Vanderstelt and Addison Rauch's years of experience at the national meet showed today as each of them ran personal best times and finishing the highest they ever have in a conference meet. Vanderstelt finished 21st in 22:01.5, and Rauch took 25th in 22:10.6.
Freshman Meg Scheske held onto the leadership of those two seniors, as she came in 26th in 22:10.8. Her time today beats her previous best time in a 6k from the Calvin College Knight Invitational at the beginning of the season.
Shaving off a minute and 22 seconds from her first 6k of the season, sophomore Amber Mango finished 45th overall in her first G-MAC cross country meet.
The Chargers have now won the last two out of three G-MAC Cross Country Championships and will prepare for the Midwest Regional meet on Nov. 9.
PHOTO: Ursuline College Athletics
WORDS: Calli Townsend