CHICAGO – Leane Willemse led the 17th-ranked Wisconsin women's cross country team to a third-place showing at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational scoring 94 points on Friday morning in Chicago.

Willemse was the first Badger to cross the finish line, covering the 6 kilometer course in 20 minutes, 5.3 seconds, moving up 13 spots over the last three kilometers. This was a personal best time for the junior who ran her previous best time last season at the Big Ten Championships. Alexa Westley also captured herself a top-15 finish coming in 13th covering the course in 20:10.6. 

Graduate Student Vivian Hacker was the third Badger to finish with a 21st-place showing in 20:21.5 and Danielle Orie followed closely behind Hacker coming in 23rd in 20:24.9. Samantha Stieve rounded out scoring for the Badgers finishing 47th in 20:51.3. 

Four other Badgers crossed the finish line Kylie Finger, Madison Mooney, Maggie Munson, and Peyton Sippy placing 49th, 56th, 62nd and 88th, respectively. 

Mya Bunke leads UW to second place in Gold Division Race
Wisconsin finished second in the gold division race with three Badgers securing top-20 spots. Junior Mya Bunke took first among the Badgers, with a ninth place showing in 21:21.4. Emma Watcke quickly followed Bunke with her 14th-place finish in 21:30.6. Isabella Jacobsen was the third Badger to cross the line in 21:39.5 to earn 17th place.

Senior Ashley Peterson helped the Badgers to a top-five finish placing 24th, running the course in 21:48.6. Erinn Hill and Annika Elliott covered the course in 21:50.0 and 22:28.5, respectively. 

Graduate student Maya Rayle competed unattached for the Badgers going on to win the race with a personal best time of 20:30.1. 

Straight from the Course
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne:
"It was fun competing today in Chicago along Lake Michigan. It almost felt like a home meet and both teams ran very well. The women continue to improve and I'm excited see them continue to improve in October. I like where they are right now."

Leane Willemse: 
"It was a good first race of the season. It was fun packing up. Our goal was to be a bit conservative and work as a team through the field. I stayed patient and just focused on working up lap by lap and finishing strong. I am excited about where we are as a team and I am looking forward to the rest of the season."

Up Next:
The Badgers will host the highly anticipated Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Presented by Under Armour on Oct. 13. Racing at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course will begin at 11 a.m. and fans that can't make it to Madison can watch the meet live on Runnerspace.


Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational 
Sept. 29, 2023 
Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course
6K Race

Tom Cooney Championship Race Results: 

Team Results

1. Furman	58
2. Ole Miss	66
3. Wisconsin	94
4. Lipscomb	117
5. Gonzaga	129
6. Ohio State	165
7. Michigan	170
8. Northwestern	191
9. Toledo	255
10. Ohio	303

 

Top 10 Individuals

1. Rosina Machu	Gonzaga	19:20.3
2. Addie Engel	Ohio State	19:44.9
3. Loral Helmers	Ole Miss	19:53.0
4. Ryann Helmer	Ole Miss	19:55.7
5. Lydia Miller	Lipscomb	19:59.8
6. Carly Wikes	Furman	20:00.7
7. Kaylie Armitag	Furman	20:02.2
8. Danielle Santos	Ohio State	20:02.4
9. Kayla Windemuller	Michigan	20:03.3
10. Leane Willemse	Wisconsin	20:05.3

Other Wisconsin Finishers

13. Alexa Westley	20:10.6 PR
21. Vivian Hacker	20:21.5
23. Danielle Orie	20:24.9 PR
27. Victoria Heiligenthal	20:29.1
47. Samantha Stieve	20:51.3
49. Kylie Finger	20:56.1 PR
56. Madison Mooney	21:02.6 PR
62. Maggie Munson	21:07.3 PR
88. Peyton Sippy	21:35.5

Gold Division Race Results: 

Team Results

1. Iona	39
2. Wisconsin	72
3. Michigan	83
4. Illinois State	95
5. Northwestern	116
6. Saint Louis	134
7. Ohio State	157
8. Ball State	175
9. Loyola	228
10. North Central	277

 

Top 10 Individuals

1. Maya Rayle	UNA-Wisconsin	20:30.1 PR
2. Claire Fuhlhage	Illinois State	20:45.1
3. Holly Smith	Iona	20:54.0
4. Laura Nicholson	Toledo	21:07.0
5. Danielle Page	Michigan	21:10.3
6. Tayla Gunton	Iona	21:13.3
7. Madison Klein	Iona	21:14.0
8. Sophia Pelligreen	Saint Louis	21:17.1
9. Mya Bunke	Wisconsin	21:21.4
10. Mattison Plummer	Illinois State	21:28.3

Other Wisconsin Finishers

14. Emma Watcke	21:30.6
17. Isabella Jacobsen	21:39.5
24. Ashley Peterson	21:48.6
25. Erinn Hill	21:50.0
26. Myra Stray (UNA)	21:52.1
27. Zaira Malloy-Salgado (UNA)	21:57.1
44. Annika Elliott	22:28.5