(South Bend, IN) – The Women's Cross Country team competed at the Bethel Invitational at St. Patrick's Park in South Bend, Indiana. The women's team finished ninth out of 14 teams. The women ran to three personal records and three season-best times at the 5k distance.

The team had a trio of girls finish together to lead the team. Macee Ripke (Sophomore; Napoleon, OH), Michaela Kurth (Sophomore; Ypsilanti, MI), and Amanda Fogo (Junior; Fowlerville, MI) finished together and were separated by just seven seconds. Ripke came across the line first in 22:26, followed by Kurth in 22:47 and Fogo in 22:53. Kurth ran her season-best 5k time by nine seconds, while Fogo ran to a personal record time, with an improvement of eight seconds.

The Cardinals continued to show good pack running, as three more runners finished with just 21 seconds separating them. Grace Finley (Sophomore; Monroe, MI) finished as the fourth Cardinal at 23:36. Rachael Byers (Sophomore; Plymouth, MI) finished the team score by being the fifth Cardinal across the line. Byers finished with a time of 23:41. Alison Doerr (Junior; Grand Haven, MI) was the final of the second pack to finish with a time of 23:57. All three women saw improvement, as Byers ran her season-best time by a total of 1:58. Finley improved by 12 seconds to earn a new personal best. Doerr improved 26 seconds for a season-best time.

Jenna Oberly (Sophomore; Dearborn, MI) finished the day for the Cardinals by narrowly running to a new personal best time of 26:03.

"I am very proud of the women today. Even though the times did not reflect our effort, we looked strong and were aggressive throughout the race. We have been working on this and for it to present itself today and not let the conditions get the best of them was great to see. I think this is a big step from a mental approach as we head towards championships, " said Head Coach Dominic Santina

The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday, October 26, for the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge at Riverside park in Grand Rapids.