SFU Athletics
Joe Gorby, Sports Information Director
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Three top 10-place individual finishes secured a second-place overall performance for the nationally fourth-ranked University of St. Francis women’s cross country team at this Friday (Oct. 9) afternoon’s Bethel (Ind.) Invitational as the Saints came up short in a tiebreaker decision.
The Saints, who are listed fourth in the 2020 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (Oct. 1), tied Indiana Wesleyan for the top placing as each team accumulated a 48-points team score. However, Indiana Wesleyan prevailed over USF in the tiebreaker by netting 20 points to the Saints’ 27 points total to win the 5K 15-team meet held at the St. Patrick’s County Park course.
Individually, Daly Galloway (SR/Dwight, Ill.) led USF with a fifth-place time of 18:59.4 while her teammate, Katherine Bakken (SO/Rochelle, Ill.) ran a 19:06.8 time to claim sixth-place honors. Bailey Wilk (FR/Huntley, Ill.) also claimed a spot among the top 10 club as she clocked a 19:09.6 time to place eighth overall.
The Saints also featured three more top 20-place finishers as Allison Ramsey (FR/Oak Forest, Ill.) generated a 14th-place time of 19:18.1 while Tara Janney (SO/Brookfield, Ill.) crossed the finish line in 19:19.5 to take 15th place. Charleen Mascote (SR/Streator, Ill.) completed the course in a 19:44.3 time for 19th place as USF claimed six of the top 20-place positions.
Ana Mendoza Pineda (FR/Plainfield, Ill.) cracked the top 30 as a result of running 20:08.3 to finish 28th place. Megan Ramsey (FR/Oak Forest, Ill.) would garner 35th place fllowing a time of 20:24.0.
The next USF runner to place was Alexia Bibakis (FR/Lowell, Ind.), who turned in a 55th-place 21:19.6 time, and Annet Juarez (SO/Joliet, Ill.) followed by registering a 21:38.4 time to notch 64th place. Kelsey Rice (FR/Plainfield, Ill.) had a time of 22:06.5, which was good for 80th place and Elyse Panzella (SO/Tinley Park, Ill.)’s 22:26.1 time allowed her to capture the 89th-place spot.
Rounding out the field of 162 runners for the Brown and Gold were Olivia Bukowski (FR/Oak Lawn, Ill.) and Emma Clapp (FR/Grayslake, Ill.). Bukowski would navigate the course in a time of 23:48.1 for 121st place while Clapp finished 26:45.0 to receive 14th place.
Bethel’s Emma Mott won the meet with a time of 18:18.3.
USF is now idle until Saturday, Oct. 24, when the Saints travel to Upland, Ind., to participate in the 5K Taylor Midwest Challenge at the Taylor Wilderness course.