LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women’s cross country team was victorious in its return to competition on Saturday (Oct. 2), as the Wolverines turned back conference foe Wisconsin to claim the title at the Great Louisville Classic. Click here for full results
Individual runner-up Kayla Windemuller was among four Wolverines who finished in the top 10 to lead the squad to a convincing 39-75 decision over the No. 26 Badgers in the five-kilometer (3.11-mile) race over the grounds of the E.P. “Tom Sawyer” State Park.
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Great Louisville Classic Women’s Results
1. No. 8 MICHIGAN — 39 points
2. No. 26 Wisconsin — 75 points
3. West Virginia (RV) — 122 points
4. Lipscomb — 205 points
5. Mid. Tenn. State — 213 points
6. Grand Valley St. — 217 points
7. Miami (OH) — 230 points
8. Loyola (IL) — 289 points
9. UC-Colo. Spgs. — 398 points
10. Johns Hopkins — 399 points
11. Radford — 424 points
12. High Point — 443 points
13. Queens (NC) — 468 points
14. St. Francis (IL) — 535 points
15. Louisville — 564 points
16. Ohio — 581 points
17. Cedarville — 586 points
18. UTEP — 604 points
19. Miss State — 611 points
20. Eastern Illinois — 619 points
21. Cornerstone — 631 points
22. Marquette — 649 points
23. Hope — 662 points
24. New Orleans — 695 points
25. Oakland — 705 points
26. Tennessee Tech — 716 points
27. App State — 717 points
28. ETSU — 720 points
29. DePaul — 724 points
30. Western Kentucky — 758 points
31. West Texas A&M — 762 points
32. Memphis — 778 points
33. UNC-Greensboro — 819 points
34. Xavier (OH) — 832 points
35. Mississippi College — 895 points
36. Bellarmine — 899 points
37. Chattanooga — 930 points
38. Taylor — 982 points
39. Montreat — 1038 points
40. South Alabama — 1080 points
41. Olivet Nazarene — 1136 points
42. Tennessee-Martin — 1150 points
43. Roberts Wesleyan — 1167 points
44. UNC-Asheville — 1198 points
Outside of Michigan, no other squad in the 44-team race had multiple top-10 finishers. Joining the runner-up Windemuller in 16:41.3 were nearby teammates fourth-place Katelynne Hart (16:44.9) and fifth-place Ericka VanderLende (16:45.1), as well as 10th-place Anne Forsyth (16:51.8).
Alice Hill rounded out the Wolverine scoring lineup with an 18th-place finish in 17:04.2.
Michigan established itself at the top of the team standings early and did not relent throughout. At the 2.1-kilometer split, the Wolverines had opened up a significant, 39-114, edge over the Badgers. Windemuller, VanderLende, Hart and Samantha Saenz were running third through sixth to power the low score.
The race had tightened with just over a kilometer to go, as the gap between the Wolverines and Badgers had narrowed to 51- 78.
Windemuller, Hart and VanderLende were still running third, fourth and sixth, respectively, but Saenz had fallen back into the pack. Forsyth moved up from 21st to 12th as she positioned herself for what would be a top-10 finish, and Hill jumped from 30th to 26th as she wound up her finishing kick.
The Badgers’ top-five had all checked in between 20th and 25th at the previous split, but had moved up to ninth, 11th, 14th, 19th and 25th at the 3.9-kilometer split to set the stage for a late-race battle between the two Big Ten rivals.
The Wolverines were too strong for the Badgers in the late going, as everyone among the top-five scorers either held firm or moved up for a net gain of 12 points. Wisconsin only shaved off three points over that same span.
Michigan will take some time to train before returning to action Oct. 15 for the Penn State National Open in State College, Pa.
