An impressive finish to the 2021 cross country season has led to even greater heights so far in 2022 for Hillsdale College's Liz Wamsley.
The sophomore set a new personal record this past weekend in the top division of the loaded Louisville Cross Country Classic to continue a strong start, a performance that caught the eye of the G-MAC once again.
On Monday afternoon, the conference office announced that Wamsley had been recognized as the G-MAC women's cross country Athlete of the Week for the second time this season, and the third in her career including the women's track Athlete of the Week award she won last winter.
The sophomore finished 51st in the Louisville XC Classic Gold Division race, running a time of 17:38.5 in the 5K to help the Chargers take 24th out of 41 teams against a national field made up largely of Division I competition. The time is nearly a minute faster than her old personal best in a cross country 5K, and it comes on the heels of a second-place finish in the Olivet Comet Open and a title at the Calvin Knight Invitational early in the season.
This is Wamsley's third season at Hillsdale, and it comes with big expectations after finishing third at the 2021 G-MAC Cross Country Championships, while also earning All-Region honors and running in the NCAA DII National Championship meet. She also had a successful track season in 2021-22, earning multiple provisional qualifying marks and competing at the NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the first time in the 10,000 meter run.
The Chargers and Wamsley compete again this Saturday, traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin to race in the Lucian Rosa Invitational. It's an important tune-up for Hillsdale on the course that will host the NCAA DII Midwest Regional Championships in November.