The Illinois Springfield women's cross country team turned in a strong showing at the Lucian Rosa Invite on Saturday morning, placing 11th out of 23 teams at Wisconsin-Parkside. The Prairie Stars finished ahead of several Midwest Region opponents, most notably Southwest Baptist, which entered the meet ranked No. 10 in the region. UIS totaled 323 points to SBU's 388, as the Bearcats placed 15th.

UIS also outran No. 5-ranked Parkside (14th) and was close behind No. 8 Saginaw Valley State. Northern Michigan, ranked No. 6 in the region entering the weekend, impressed with a fourth-place finish behind nationally elite programs Colorado School of Mines, Adams State, and UC-Colorado Springs. Indianapolis, a GLVC opponent, was also in the field, finishing 21st.

Senior Madelyn Miller-Ross once again led the Prairie Stars, placing 11th overall in the 207-runner field with a time of 21:38 in the women's 6K. She was also the second-fastest finisher from a Midwest Region school, trailing only Northern Michigan's top runner by one second. Kaleigh Inniss was next across in 39th (22:26), followed by Victoria Regitz in 66th (22:53).

The UIS scoring pack was rounded out by sophomore Josslyn Gaona (23:40, 112th) and junior Marissa Roggensack (23:49, 121st). Mackenzie Billard (24:44), Lauren McBride (24:46), and Allison Thompson (25:07.13) provided additional depth.

"Our ladies had their best showing yet! This is a challenging course, but they tackled it head-on and competed against the nation's best. Being able to pick up some in-region wins was a big goal coming into today, and accomplishing that shows their hard work is paying off," said head coach Emmons King.

Open Race
In the women's open 6k, three Prairie Stars competed. Olivia Thomsen led the group with a time of 26:35 to place 54th overall. Audrey Wagoner followed close behind in 55th at 26:44, while Ava Allison clocked 27:47.08 for 67th.

Up Next
UIS returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Lewis Crossover, one of the largest Division II meets in the country.