MADISON, Wis. – Thanks to a duo of Badgers that earned All-Big Ten honors, the No. 22 Wisconsin women's cross country team finished second at the 2023 Big Ten Cross Country Championship on Friday morning at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.

No. 15 Michigan State won the championship for the second year in a row with 46 points, while the Badgers scored 81 points. Michigan took home third, scoring 102 points, while Penn State took fourth with 136 points.

Just over 28 seconds separated UW's top-two finishers as junior Leane Willemse led UW with her second-place finish in 20 minutes, 57.4 seconds. Graduate student Alexa Westley had her best time in a Big Ten race, placing ninth in 21:25.6, while junior Kylie Finger finished 21st in 21:46.4. Sophomore Isabella Jacobsen and graduate student Samantha Stieve rounded out the top-five Wisconsin scorers in 24th place in 21:49.7 and 25th place in 21:51.9, respectively

The Badgers got out strong, with seven runners among the top 35, at the one mile mark. Wisconsin was fourth in the team race with 113 points two miles into the race before placing second overall.

Thanks to their top-10 finishes, Willemse and Westley earned first and second-team All-Big Ten honors, respectively. 

Straight from the Course
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne:
"On the women's side we talk all the time about getting over the bump. They gave a great effort out there today, but Michigan State were just stronger than us. When you look at the results, we had a lot of women run well. Leane, incredible performance, who would've thought that at the beginning of the season. She's putting herself out there and getting better every time and that's exciting." 

Leane Willemse on the race:
"The race went pretty well, the goal was to stay in contact, not lose focus, staying patient, staying controlled, staying relaxed following the moves. Staying with the group, staying with the race after the race went on and then just following it all the way through and we're going to be back here in two weeks. We may have not got the outcome we wanted, but there's still so much take away this group went for it. Michigan State, really stepped up and the Big Ten Conference for the women's side is one of the deepest fields."

Lexi Westley on the remainder of the season:
"I am really proud of our team, the women stepped up and I'm proud of us and again, this unfinished business, we're back here in two weeks. The course is gonna be muddy, the hills are not going anywhere and we'll be back and we're ready to take some names and bet on Badgers."

Up Next:
The Badgers look to qualify for the 2023 NCAA Championships when they compete at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 10. The women's 6K race starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison.