The Hillsdale College women's cross country team may have a small roster in 2022 -- with just nine athletes competing.
Although few in number, the Chargers are still plenty potent -- and proved it at the Calvin Knights XC Invitational on Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Hillsdale placed four of its runners in the top 20 and finished with a score of 32 points to easily win the team title over nine other squads, 11 points ahead of host Calvin in second place.
Leading the Chargers was sophomore Liz Wamsley, who followed up a runner-up finish and G-MAC Athlete of the Week performance by claiming the first individual championship of her collegiate cross country career. Wamsley ran away from the field to win the race by over 30 seconds, finishing the 6,000 meter distance in 21:27 -- less than 20 seconds off her career best at the distance.
Close behind was junior Margaret Scheske, who took fourth overall with a competitive time of 22:27, also not far off her best-ever 6K time early in the season.
Junior Gwynne Riley placed 10th in 22:44 for the Chargers, sophomore Vera Thompson took 19th in 23:12, and junior Natalie Martinson rounded out Hillsdale's scoring competitors with a 32nd place finish, in a collegiate-best time of 23:21.
Also competing for Hillsdale, sophomore Brynn Edison also ran a collegiate-best 6K time of 24:16 to finish 55th, and sophomore Kayla Loescher PRed as well with a time of 24:19 and a 79th-place finish. Freshman Katie Edison also completed her first collegiate race for the Chargers, finishing in 25:19, close behind her older sister and Loescher.
Having set down an early-season marker, Hillsdale will take the next two weeks off from competitive racing to focus on training and preparing for key October meets. The next two races for the Chargers are the Lansing Invitational on Sept. 30, and the Louisville Cross Country Classic on October 1 as Hillsdale splits its squads that weekend.