By Alanna Huggett, UWEC Sports Information
Winneconne, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's cross county team competed at the Pre-Nationals/UW-Oshkosh/Kollege Town Invite this past Saturday at the Lake Breeze Golf Course.
Pre-Nationals Results | UWO Invite | Photos
Despite a muddy course, the weather conditions on Saturday were almost perfect as the Blugold women finished 5th out of 52 teams in the Pre-Nationals race. Washington University won the Pre-Nationals race.
Sam Slattery (Jr. – Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) led the Blugold women finishing in 9th place with a time of 22:08. Morgan Marek (Sr. – Muskego, WI/Muskego) was the second finisher for the Blugolds and placed 16th with a time of 22:28.
Marek said that both races (pre-nationals and the open race) were a success for the Blugolds and that the team ran a smart race on a muddy course.
"We all went out smart – and were able to close hard which is what we always like – that's always our goal," Marek said.
Following Marek were Lexie Tremble (Jr. – Muskego, WI/Muskego), Emma Drangstveit (So. – Lakeville, MN/Lakeville North High School) and Naomi Long (Fr. – Medina, MN/Wayzata).
Tremble finished 50th with a time of 23:10 and Drangstveit finished 79th with a time of 23:34. Long rounded out the top five for the women's team and finished 102nd with a time of 23:49.
Lizzy Cisewski (So. – Stevens Point, WI/Pacelli High School) and Karen Gomez-Ruiz (Sr. Chatfield, MN/Chatfield) finished the top seven runners for the Blugolds. Cisewski finished 105th with a time of 23:51 and Gomez-Ruiz finished 117th with a time of 23:58.
In the UW-Oshkosh/Kollege Town Invite (8+ runners on the team), the Blugolds finished 3rd of 27 teams.
Alanna Huggett (So. – Marshall,WI/Marshall High School) finished first, placing 11th with a time of 23:59. Following Huggett were Emily Jaeger (Sr. – Fall Creek, WI/Fall Creek) and Hannah Lamack (So. – Kewaunee, WI/Kewaunee High School). Jaeger finished 15th with a time of 24:05 and Lamack finished 20th with a time of 24:10.
Rounding out the top five for the Blugold women were Liz Galloway (So. – Mt. Prospect, IL/Prospect High School) and Hanna Reed (Sr. – Fort Atkinson, WI/Fort Atkinson). Galloway finished 29th with a time of 24:23 and Reed finished 30th with a time of 24:27.
Head Coach Dan Schwamberger said it was a solid day for the team despite the muddy race conditions. The Blugolds raced competitively with teams they'll be competing against later in the season.
"People put themselves in good position – it was just, you know, a tough day to really move the last third just because it was so muddy and wet," said Schwamberger.
The Blugolds will be racing again at the City Wells Invite on Friday, October 19th at the Eau Claire City Well Fields.
The top 12 women who competed at the Lake Breeze Golf Course on Saturday will be racing again at the WIAC Conference meet on Saturday, October 27th. This will be another home meet for the Blugolds. The WIAC Conference meet will be held at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, WI.
