NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The University of St. Francis women's cross country team raced in its second meet of the 2024 season on Friday afternoon at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) National Catholic Invite and came away with a seventh-place effort in the 11-team field.
USF, which netted a team score of 221 points, placed two women among the Top 50 finishers in the 141-runner 5K race on the Burke Golf Course. The field consisted of competitors from eight NCAA I and two NCAA II universities, with St. Francis being the lone representative competing from an NAIA institution. Notre Dame earned the top placement with a point total of 15. St. Francis finished just 17 points behind Marquette University's score of 204.
The Saints, who are currently ranked No. 10 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, were paced by
Allison Ramsey's 37th-place time of 18:40.60. Freshman
Evita Martinez crossed the finish line in 48th place, authoring a time of 19:18.
Rounding out USF's top five finishers were
Riley Fleming,
Dyannara Franco and
Nicole Vollrath. Fleming placed 69th overall at 19:52.50, Franco was next to cross at 19:55.90 in the 72nd position, while Vollrath turned in a time of 20:09 for 78th place.
The meet's individual champion was Erin Strzelecki of Notre Dame, who ran a 16:47.50 to best her teammate Arianne Olson's second-place time of 16:55.60.
Next Up
The Saints will now prepare for the Seminole Valley Stampede, hosted by Mount Mercy University on Saturday, October 5, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The 5K race will be conducted at Seminole Valley Park and will begin at 10:15 am.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
