SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Illinois Springfield women's cross-country team came away with a decisive victory in the UIS Invitational, beating Millikin and MacMurray in the competition. UIS scored 18 points, taking the top-two spots, six of the top seven, and 10 of the top-12.

Krissy Finley won the race by an incredible 45 seconds, pacing the runners with a time of 14:59.9 in the 4K (2.49 mile) race, clocking in at a 6:01.4 mile pace. Freshman, Lexi Throne, took second with a time of 15.44.0, and finished six seconds clear of her nearest competitor.

Lexi Yoggerst (16:02.2) and Libby Price (16:09.4) took fourth and fifth, respectively, while Gloria Escarco (16:10.7) and Kelsey Cleary (16:12.1) took sixth and seventh. Cleary used a strong final 40 yards to clip Ripley Vonhoff of Millikin to finish in the top-seven.

Savannah Brannan (16:13.8) and Olivia Rohr (16:19.7) rounded out the top-10 for the Prairie Stars, finishing just ahead of teammates Alexandria Quarton (16:26.2) and Claire Eaton (16:45.8).

Abbie Lemley (17:15.6) took 17^th, while Rachael Crowley (17:27.8) placed 19^th, just ahead of Hannah Roberts (18:07.0), who rounded out the Prairie Stars with a 22^nd place finish in the 39-runner field.

"Krissy and Eli both took care of business today and looked really comfortable and strong out in front," said head coach Mike DeWitt. "Lexi Throne did a really strong job, winning the second half of the race, after a strong performance last week. The goal for us in a 4K race is to be at 16 minutes and today, we had a group of runners right there in that area, and that is big step forward to where we were last year."

The Prairie Stars will compete next at the Wheaton Dodd Invitational next Saturday in Wheaton, Illinois with the race beginning at 10:00 AM.