Sept. 11, 2010

Complete Results

DEKALB, Ill. -- Led by a trio of freshmen, the Wisconsin women's cross country team registered its first win of the season, racing to a first-place finish at the Northern Illinois Huskie Open on Saturday.

The Badgers had three of the top five finishers in the 5-kilometer race and finished with 23 total points en route to winning the 10-team invitational.

Running in her first collegiate race, freshman Lavinia Jurkiewicz finished second in a time of 18:45. Fellow freshmen Theresa Selestow and Liga Blyholder took third and fifth, respectively, for Wisconsin. Selestow finished just a few steps behind Jurkiewicz, clocking in at 18:48, while Blyholder also finished strong in a time of 18:59.

Senior Karlye Wolff took sixth overall with a time of 19:15 and freshman Rebecca Stoebe finished in 19:22, rounding out UW's scoring.

"I was happy with the freshmen and their effort out there today," head coach Jim Stintzi said, "It was the first collegiate race for some of the girls and a great way to see where they're at fitness-wise."

The UW women took 13 of the top 20 finishing positions overall. Eight of those were freshmen, which is promising for the Badgers going into their next meet, the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Oct. 2.

"It was good for the freshmen to experience those competitive conditions," Stintzi said, "But now it's time to increase the quality and quantity of our training to prepare for the adidas Invitational."

Although the Badgers held their top runners out of competition, they should get their first action at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational. The UW women and men will play host to the nationally-ranked field at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course at 11 a.m.