The Hillsdale College women's cross country team placed all five scoring runners in the top 25 at the 2021 G-MAC Conference Championships this Saturday, capturing third place against stiff competition from multiple nationally ranked teams.
The Chargers were led by yet another strong performance from freshman Liz Wamsley, who shaved nearly 40 seconds off her personal best to run a 21:47. Wamsley ran a bold strategic race, opening quickly to join the front pack and remain in the top three for virtually the entire 6k. She finished third overall, earning first-team all-GMAC honors.
Finishing less than a second apart, sophomores Margaret Scheske and Gwynne Riley took 15th and 16th for Hillsdale, running 22:26.6 and 22:26.9 respectively. Scheske and Riley both put forward season bests performances and also earned second-team all-GMAC honors.
Freshman Vera Thompson was next across the line, placing 24th for Hillsdale with a time of 22:53 and setting a personal record by over 30 seconds. Just behind her, freshman Abby Scherer ran 22:54 to capture 25th for the team and close out the scoring top five for the Chargers.
Junior Claire McNally crossed the line 3 seconds after Scherer, snagging 26th with a time of 22:57. Sophomore Natalie Martinson finished out the top seven for Hillsdale, running 24:20 to place 59th overall.
Meet hosts Cedarville, ranking 16th in Division II, placed their five scoring runners in the top 17, edging out defending champion Walsh to take the meet title with 45 points. Nationally ranked Walsh landed the runner-up position with 61 points, and Hillsdale's women took third with 83, just in front of a talented Malone team, who placed fourth with 96 points.
The Chargers have two weeks to regroup and prepare for their next competition in two weeks, where they will once again race against a tightly contested field in the 2021 NCAA Regional Championships, hosted in Evansville, Ohio.
Photo by Scott Huck, Cedarville Athletics
Written by Allison Nimtz '23