The Hillsdale women's cross country team began its Great Midwest Athletic Conference title defense in encouraging fashion on Saturday, beating five other G-MAC foes and taking the team title on its home course at Hayden Park in a season-opening invitational.
Much like last season's G-MAC championship race, victory for Hillsdale on Saturday night came down to the Chargers' superior depth. Hillsdale put three runners in the top seven in the 6K race, and all five scoring runners in the top 13 to finish with 40 points, 16 better than runner-up Cedarville and 19 better than third-place Walsh.
Senior Maryssa Depies, a three-time first team All-G-MAC runner in cross country for the Chargers, led the way for Hillsdale with a third-place finish in 22:22, just 14 seconds behind race-winner Alayna Ackley of Cedarville.
The Chargers also got big races from junior Sophia Maeda, who finished fifth overall (22:53), and senior Christina Sawyer, who took seventh (23:04). The pair's strong performances helped Hillsdale place three runners ahead of Cedarville and Walsh's second finishers in the race and gave the Chargers a big edge.
Junior Claire McNally took 12th (23:18) and sophomore Margaret Scheske took 13th (23:21) to seal the victory for Hillsdale.
The Chargers also got an encouraging race from new freshman Liz Wamsley, who took 17th overall (23:39) in her first collegiate meet. The strong start bodes well for the prospect out of St. Louis, Missouri, and enhances Hillsdale's enviable team depth even further.
Senior Megan Poole took 23rd (23:59) to round out the Chargers' top seven finshers.
In winning Saturday's invite, Hillsdale bested each of its closest competitors at last season's 2019 G-MAC Championship meet, and showed they'll once again be strong contenders for the conference crown.
But there's six weeks between now and the Oct. 24 Championship meet at Tiffin, and a lot of work still to be done for the Chargers in that time. Hillsdale will spend the next two weeks training, before traveling to the Tiffin Invite on Friday, Oct. 2 for another look at their top G-MAC competitors and a chance to familarize themselves with the championship couse.
PHOTO: Hillsdale senior Maryssa Depies (1893), who finished third in Saturday's Hillsdale Invite, leads a Cedarville runner midway through the race. Photo by Kasidy Carson.
