The Hillsdale College Chargers Women's Cross Country team finished 11th at the 2019 NCAA Division II National meet in Sacramento, California, this afternoon. They brought with them a rather young team, including two freshmen and two sophomores who had yet to compete at the national level in their college careers, however, they handled it well and ran strong races.
More than 250 athletes and 34 teams competed in today's 6k race. Adams State University captured the national team title, while Midwest Regional opponent Grand Valley State University finished second. Walsh University, Hillsdale's G-MAC rival, finished in 10th.
The Chargers were led by sophomore Sophia Maeda, who took 73rd overall in 21:26.0. This was Maeda's first trip to compete in a national meet. She was followed close behind by senior teammate Arena Lewis, who placed 81st in 21:29.6.
Freshman Gwynne Riley had a great performance for her first time on the national stage, as she finished 88th in a time just one second off of her personal best: 21:31.9 Junior Maryssa Depies took 122nd with a time of 21:54.0.
Fellow Freshman Meg Scheske didn't let the stampede of runners overwhelm her. She ran a strong and consistent race which led to a personal best time on the season. She finished 112th in 21:58.1.
Sophomore Claire McNally ran just under her personal best time as she finished in 22:05.2 to take 142nd. Junior Christina Sawyer finished in 22:24.1 to take 145th.
The Chargers will now have a bit of time to rest up and prepare for the upcoming indoor track season.
WORDS: Calli Townsend