By Dan Lau, UWEC Sports Information
ROCK ISLAND, IL. (Blugolds.com) The University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire women's cross country team competed at the Augustana Interregional Invitational this Saturday. The Blugolds took 5th out of 25 teams, scoring 167 points. University of Chicago, Wartburg, Washington University, and Pomona-Pitzer were the top four teams respectively.
The UW- Eau Claire women ran against some of the best competition they will see all year in a very deep field. The Blugolds also had the back half of their team compete in the open race. Many women on the team set personal bests in both races.
Carolyn Shult (Sr.- Augusta, WI) was the first Blugold to cross the line in 6th place with a time of 21:29.6. The next finisher for the women was Naomi Long (Sr.- Medina, MN/Wayzata) took 36th in 22:17.8.
Also scoring for the Blugold women in their top five were Ashley Kachurik (Sr.- Wadsworth, IL/Warren Township) in 39th with a 22:23.5, Katie Faris (Sr.- Chippewa Falls, WI) in 40th with a 22:24.4, and Keeley Behr (Fr.- Aurora, IL/Metea Valley) in 46th with a 22:35.0.
In the women's open race, the Blugolds took 4th out 16 teams. Leading the Blugolds in 5th overall was Jenna Trzebiatowski (Jr.- Rosholt, WI) with a 23:24.9. Coming next for Eau Claire was Kirsten Ranke (Sr.- Waterford, WI/Waterford Union) in 19th with a 23:54.0.
Rounding out the top team's top five were Emily Kolb (Sr.- Brown Deer, WI) in 20th with a 23:55.1, Kassie Bargender (So.- Wausau, WI/East) in 21st with a 23:55.5, and Carissa Prestholdt (Jr.- Saint Louis Park, MN) in 26th with a 24:03.9.
Blugold Senior Katie Faris said, "I think this past race set us up nicely. It was really awesome to compete with other competitive teams that we would normally only see at Nationals. By taking 5th, that just has everybody excited and was a confidence booster knowing we can compete with these teams."
The Blugolds will be back in action at the City Wells 5K on Friday October 21 at 4:00 PM.
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