CHICAGO, IL - Iona University women's cross country earned a first place team finish at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational at Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course hosted by Loyola University Chicago. Three Gaels finished in the top 10 and all five scorers in the top 20 and were led by sophomore
Holly Smith's third place finish in the 6k event. The Maroon & Gold's team score of 39 was 33 points ahead of second place Wisconsin in the opening race of the day.
THE RUNDOWN
Iona took control of the team standings by the 3k mark and jumped ahead three spots from the first thousand-meter split. Smith ran the entire race in the top three and completed the race in 20:54.0. Sophomore
Tayla Gunton (21:13.3) and junior
Madison Klein (21:14.0) finished within a second of each other in sixth and seventh place. Freshman
Lily Overton was Iona's fourth scorer in 16th place with a time of 21:38.7, she was the third freshman to cross the line in the race. Rookie
Claragh Keane made her Iona debut and finished 20th in 21:43.3. Junior
Cosmina Spiridon (78th, 24:05.4) also competed for the Gaels.
INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS
Smith was bested for the individual title by Wisconsin's Maya Rayle (20:30.1) and Illinois State's (20:45.1). The trio were at the front of the race for the entire 6,000-meters.
TEAM SCORES
Iona's 39 point effort was followed by Wisconsin (72), Michigan (83), Illinois State (95) and Northwestern (116) to round out the top five.
IONA PERFORMERS
TOP 20 PERFORMERS
| Pl. |
Name |
Team |
Year |
Time |
| 1.) |
Maya Rayle |
Wisconsin |
SR |
20:30.1 |
| 2.) |
Claire Fuhlhage |
Illinois State |
SR |
20:45.1 |
| 3.) |
Holly Smith |
Iona |
SO |
20:54.0 |
| 4.) |
Laura Nicholson |
Toledo |
JR |
21:07.0 |
| 5.) |
Danielle Page |
Michigan |
SR |
21:10.3 |
| 6.) |
Tayla Gunton |
Iona |
SO |
21:13.3 |
| 7.) |
Madison Klein |
Iona |
JR |
21:14.0 |
| 8.) |
Sophia Pelligreen |
Saint Louis |
FR |
21:17.1 |
| 9.) |
Mya Bunke |
Wisconsin |
SO |
21:21.4 |
| 10.) |
Mattison Plummer |
Illinois State |
JR |
21:28.3 |
| 11.) |
McKenna Paulson |
Saint Louis |
SR |
21:29.1 |
| 12.) |
Mara Longnecker |
Michigan |
FR |
21:30.4 |
| 13.) |
Marina Gross |
Toledo |
SO |
21:30.4 |
| 14.) |
Emma Watcke |
Wisconsin |
JR |
21:30.6 |
| 15.) |
Karina James |
Toledo |
SO |
21:37.3 |
| 16.) |
Lily Overton |
Iona |
FR |
21:38.7 |
| 17.) |
Bella Jacobsen |
Wisconsin |
FR |
21:39.5 |
| 18.) |
Carly Spletzer |
Ball State |
SO |
21:41.6 |
| 19.) |
Katelynne Hart |
Michigan |
SR |
21:43.0 |
| 20.) |
Claragh Keane |
Iona |
FR |
21:43.3 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| Pl. |
Team |
Score |
| 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 (Ill.) |
228 |
| 10.) |
North Central (Ill.) |
277 |
| 11.) |
Chicago State |
321 |
| 12.) |
DuPage |
353 |
UP NEXT
In two weeks, the Gaels resume action at two separate events. The Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, and the ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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