Junior Liz Wamsley kept a perfect start intact as the Hillsdale College women's cross country team ran to a second-place finish at Friday's Lansing Cross Country Invitational in Grand Woods Park.
Wamsley, a returning All-American in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track from the 2022-23 season, pulled away from the pack for another dominant individual victory, finishing the 5K course in 18:33.5, nearly 30 seconds ahead of the runner-up finisher. She adds this title to previous victories at the Diemer Classic and Warrior Challenge.
Hillsdale also got a promising showing from its young pack in the race, finishing with 51 points, just behind champion Davenport's 43 and more than doubling up the total of the third place squad from Spring Arbor.
Freshman Savannah Fraley took sixth in a competitive time of 19:20.5, while fellow freshmen Megan Roberts (20:17.2) and Eleanor Clark (20:19.8) placed 19th and 22nd, respectively.
Junior stalwart Vera Thompson took 25th in 20:24.4 to round out Hillsdale's scoring runners, while fellow junior Brynn Edison placed 29th (20:31.9) and freshman Anna Stirton took 33rd (20:44.8) as well for the Chargers.
With its September schedule out of the way, Hillsdale has one more big test before championship season begins, as the Chargers travel to Chicagoland for the Lewis Crossover on Oct. 7. One of the top meets in the nation, a who's who of elite NCAA DII teams will be racing at Lewis, giving the Chargers a chance to step up and prove themselves against top competition heading into the G-MAC Championships later in the month.