Women's cross country takes 12th at Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS – Running in its most competitive meet of the season, the Simpson women's cross country team took 12th place at the 2009 Roy Griak Invitational Saturday from the Les Bolstad Golf Course at the University of Minnesota.

The Storm finished with 374 points in a race featuring nine teams ranked in the top 35 of the USTFCCCA Division III Cross Country National Rankings. Only two teams not ranked in the top 35 finished ahead of Simpson.

Simpson last ran in the event in 2007, when it finished 17th of 42 teams.

Junior Catie Ellingson turned in Simpson's top performance, finishing 11th in the 500-runner field in a time of 23:06.0, less than one second out of the top 10 in the 6K race.

Senior Sarah Hammel navigated the course in 24:12.0, pacing 51st overall. Simpson's third finisher, Jess Christensen placed 66nd overall in a time of 24:25.3.

Tricia Davis placed 112th in a time of 25:00.6, and Signe Mayland placed 200th, rrunning a 26:14.1 in rounding out the top five Simpson finishers.

Jade Osborne placed 247th (26:49.1), followed by Jayde Boyle in 252nd (26:52.8), Ashley Drogo in 254th (26:53.7), Krin Guzman in 261st (26:59.6), Alyssa Hedrick in 274th (27:17.0), Maddy McAreavy in 383rd (29:02.7), Andrea Benson in 396th (29:12.0), Rachel Smith in 399th (29:17.5), Molly Rhodes in 411th (29:40.2), Courtney Licht in 459th (32:04.6), and Alyssa Henderson in 464th (32:40.1).

The Storm will hit the course again in two weeks, when it goes to the Wartburg Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly Oct. 10.