By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
Eau Claire, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Showing off their team depth on Friday, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's cross country team bested UW-Stout in the UW-Eau Claire 5k.
This was the first year UW-Stout attended, which gave the meet a genuine competitive feel.
"It's nice to have someone else, another team in the race," said Coach Dan Schwamberger. "It probably made it more competitive, and it's better than just having to race each other."
The race, which occurred at Lowe's Creek rather than the City Wells this year, presented a bit of an extra challenge. Nonetheless, Erika Owens (Sr. - Chilton, WI/Chilton) ran strong to win the meet in a time of 19:37, a margin of 26 seconds.
"My plan going into the race was to just have fun and work with my teammates," said the team captain. "I would say that my race plan went well and according to plan, I was able to work with the girls through the big hill."
The Blugolds completed a perfect score, taking places first through fifth. Hanna Reed (So. – Fort Atkinson, WI/Fort Atkinson) was second (20:03), Katie Carlino (Jr. - Franklin, WI/Franklin) took third (20:08), Leah Engebretson (Sr. – Frederic, WI/Frederic) in fourth (20:19), and Katie George (So. - St. Paul, MN/Visitation) was fifth (20:37).
The Blugold women are confident looking ahead to championship season.
"Most people ran really well," said Schwamberger. "That should tell people that they're ready to go."
"The team goals are for everyone to pack up well and move up as a team that way," said Owens. "If we do that we have a good chance of doing well."
The Blugolds will travel to Stevens Point for the first time this season to compete in the WIAC Conference Championship meet this Saturday, October 29.
