CHICAGO – Leane Willemse led the 17th-ranked Wisconsin women’s cross country team to a third-place showing at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational scoring 94 points on Friday morning in Chicago.
Willemse was the first Badger to cross the finish line, covering the 6 kilometer course in 20 minutes, 5.3 seconds, moving up 13 spots over the last three kilometers. This was a personal best time for the junior who ran her previous best time last season at the Big Ten Championships. Alexa Westley also captured herself a top-15 finish coming in 13th covering the course in 20:10.6.
Graduate Student Vivian Hacker was the third Badger to finish with a 21st-place showing in 20:21.5 and Danielle Orie followed closely behind Hacker coming in 23rd in 20:24.9. Samantha Stieve rounded out scoring for the Badgers finishing 47th in 20:51.3.
Four other Badgers crossed the finish line Kylie Finger, Madison Mooney, Maggie Munson, and Peyton Sippy placing 49th, 56th, 62nd and 88th, respectively.
Mya Bunke leads UW to second place in Gold Division Race
Wisconsin finished second in the gold division race with three Badgers securing top-20 spots. Junior Mya Bunke took first among the Badgers, with a ninth place showing in 21:21.4. Emma Watcke quickly followed Hacker with her 14th-place finish in 21:30.6. Isabella Jacobsen was the third Badger to cross the line in 21:39.5 to earn 17th place.
Senior Ashley Peterson helped the Badgers to a top-five finish placing 24th, running the course in 21:48.6. Erinn Hill and Annika Elliott covered the course in 21:50.0 and 22:28.5, respectively.
Graduate student Maya Rayle competed unattached for the Badgers going on to win the race with a personal best time of 20:30.1.
Straight from the Course
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne:
“It was fun competing today in Chicago along Lake Michigan. It almost felt like a home meet and both teams ran very well. The women continue to improve and I’m excited see them continue to improve in October. I like where they are right now.”
Leane Willemse:
“It was a good first race of the season. It was fun packing up. Our goal was to be a bit conservative and work as a team through the field. I stayed patient and just focused on working up lap by lap and finishing strong. I am excited about where we are as a team and I am looking forward to the rest of…
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