The St. Edward's cross country women split their team up and sent some to compete at the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers Invitational and others to the Dallas Baptist University Old Glory Gallop. St. Edward's core group competed in the UAH Chargers Invitational, placing 16th out of 41 teams.
"The ladies did a fantastic job of working together today. I'm really proud of their effort and how everyone fought for position all the way to the finish," St. Edward's Head Cross Country Coach Steven Cary says. "It seemed like every time I saw them, there was a group of Hilltoppers together, feeding off each other and pushing each other."
JULIANA MERLO led the Hilltoppers with a personal-best time of 18:48.3, placing 62nd. CAROLINE WILDRICK placed 82nd at 19:01.3, followed by ELLIE HOVRE in 88th at 19:05.1. Jordan Saunders (99th, 19:17.2) and FAITH BROTHERS (118th, 19:30.2) rounded out the Hilltoppers' top five.
MYLA CASTILLO (138th, 19:44.3) and MIA RIVERA (144th, 19:49.5) also competed.
"Today's results just show the culture we have and how competitive our team is this season," Cary explains. "Any of these women can lead our group on any given day. Jules had an amazing race but was backed by some quality performances just behind her."
Showing off its depth, the Hilltoppers placed 10th out of 33 teams in the DBU Old Glory Gallop. DELANEY LONG led St. Edward's with a personal-best time of 19:12.6 to place 58th. Sarah Wilson followed in 67th at 19:22.2, and HAILEY RODRIGUEZ in 84th at 19:40.3. JENNA SAUNDERS (89th, 19:44.4) and SAMMY SALAZAR (90th, 19:45.3) rounded out the top five with new personal best times.
MIA SANCHEZ (104th, 19:55.7), LILY GRANT (142nd, 20:38.8), VICTORIA HINOJOSA (147th, 20:42.9), MAGGIE RITTMEYER (153rd, 20:50.6), MIRYAM MENDOZA (154th, 20:50.9), TAYLOR LATZA (158th, 20:55.3), MEGAN FERRELL (168th, 21:10.5), Carlota Gonzalez Munoz (205th, 21:54.2), TORI PONCE (214th, 22:00.9), and BRYN PETERS (236th, 22:50.7) also competed.
"I love that we competed well with some strong teams, but we still have some areas to improve on over the next week or two," Cary says. "We've got to continue making each other better and learning to race aggressively in championship races. We'll keep training smart and hard to be at our best at conference in a couple of weeks."
