Returning All-American Liz Wamsley proved herself up to the challenge of a national-championship level field at Saturday's Lewis Crossover in the Chicagoland area, while the young Hillsdale College women's cross country team got valuable experience with a solid performance as well.
One of the most stacked events at the NCAA DII level in the country, teams from six of the eight regions competed in Saturday's crossover event, including 10 nationally ranked and an additional six regionally-ranked teams. The Chargers placed 20th out of 33 squads, a solid finish for such a tough field.
Wamsley led the way by placing fourth overall, in 21:06.9, her best-ever time in a 6K race. It's the first time in 2023 that Wamsley didn't win the meet, but the race was against a truly elite field -- the three runners who finished ahead of her included the 2022 national runner-up at the NCAA DII level in cross country, and the third-place finisher in that race. Wamsley finished less than five seconds out of second place in the race, and marked herself as a true contender to add to her lengthy list of accomplishments later this fall.
Also placing in the top 100 for the Chargers was freshman Savannah Fraley, who took 98th in a collegiate-best time of 23:00.8. Junior Vera Thompson placed 151st in a time of 23:30.8 as well for Hillsdale, freshman Anna Stirton took 206th in a collegiate-best time of 24:12.9, and junior Brynn Edison placed 214th in a time of 24:18.3 as well.
Freshman Eleanor Clark also took 218th in a collegiate-best time of 24:22.4 for the Chargers, and junior Kayla Loescher placed 221st in a time of 24:28.9.
The Chargers now turn their focus to championship season in October. The next event for Hillsdale are the 2023 G-MAC Championships, hosted by Malone on Oct. 21. A young Hillsdale squad is looking to put its best foot forward and run well against a tough field that includes regionally ranked Cedarville and Walsh, among other strong competitors.
Photo Courtesy of Lewis Athletics