NORTON, Ohio – The No. 14 Wisconsin women’s cross country team finished as the runner-ups at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional to notch an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships next weekend at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
While No. 6 Notre Dame secured the team championship, the Badgers bested Toledo by three points, putting up 97 points in comparison to the Rockets’ 100 points to automatically qualify for the big dance next week.
It was senior Shea Ruhly who once again stepped up for the Badgers, as the Middleton native was the first member of UW’s team to cross the finish line. Ruhly placed 12th overall, hovering around the top-10 competitors for a majority of the race. She covered the 6K course in 19 minutes, 55.1 seconds, a personal best.
A pair of underclassmen in Nora Gremban and Bella Jacobsen were not far behind, only separated by four seconds. Gremban and Jacobsen placed 16th and 17th, respectively, each turning in sub-20 minute 6Ks.
Carolyn Shult put together one of her top performances of the season, as she was the fourth Badger to cross the finish line with a time of 20:08.7.
Mya Bunke clutched up for Wisconsin down the stretch, as she rose up two places between the 5K and the 6K mark to lower the team score for the Badgers. The Slinger native finished in 30th place overall, wrapping up the scoring runners for UW in this competition to push them ahead of Toledo.
Annika Cutforth and Kylie Finger placed 35th and 77th, respectively, to round out Wisconsin’s performance.
Notes To Know
– Four Badgers earned all-region honors in today’s race, highlighted by Shea Ruhly, Nora Gremban, Bella Jacobsen and Carolyn Shult
– This marks the 34th time UW has advanced to the NCAA Championships and the fourth-straight season.
Straight from the Course
Mick Byrne, Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
“The objective was to come in and qualify without putting too much stress on our bodies on a real tough course…and they did just that.”
“Two of our top three were not out there today. A lot of women stepped up. Shea Ruhly led our women again, Nora Gremban and Mya Bunke came through, along with Bella Jacobsen, Carolyn Shult. There aren’t many teams, whether it is in a regional meet, who qualify automatically and not have two of their stars. To go on next week, it’s huge for our program….
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