COLD SPRING, Minn. - The University of Northwestern women's cross country team turned in another strong performance this weekend at the Toni St. Pierre Invitational, hosted by Saint Benedict. The Eagles saw the same top five runners from last week's meet, just in a different order.
Freshman, Ellie Nelson (Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley), surged to the front of the lineup for the Eagles and crossed 6th overall with a time of 19:36.3, nearly two minutes faster than her debut time. Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) followed in 9th place at 20:00.6, slicing more than a minute from her first race of the season. Natalie Van De Riet (Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville), also making just her second appearance in purple and gold, came through 12th with a 20:08.0 finish.
Cheyanne Scalese (Lancaster, Minn./Lancaster Public)t added a 17th-place finish, turning in a time of 20:36.5, trimming nearly a minute and a half in her second outing for UNW, while Caroline Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) rounded out the top five Eagle runners in 20th with a time of 20:42.0, over a minute quicker than her opening race.
Behind them, Mariah Klippenes (South Haven, Minn./Annandale), Torah Barrett (Belle Plaine, Minn./Jordan), and Chloe Zimmerman (Helena, Mont./Capital) finished with times of 21:26.0, 21:52.8, and 22:03.8, respectively, all breaking through the 22-minute barrier or knocking on the door. Samary Acuna (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) crossed the finish line at 23:07.9, while Kennedy Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and Jessica Morrone (Phillips, Wis./Phillips) clocked times of 26:45.5 and 27:01.2.
Finalized times show, impressively, that every Northwestern runner improved from last week. With many new faces on the roster and the team already making big strides, the Eagles are showing promising depth and growth early in the season. They will look to continue with this momentum in two weeks at the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The race on September 19th will begin at 12:15 PM on Les Bolstad Golf Course.
