Women Defeat Seven Ranked Teams At Notre Dame

Friday, October 4

Notre Dame, IN

10:00 AM

University of Washington

Joe Piane Invitational (Women)

October 04, 2019 | Cross Country

Complete Results

By: UW Athletic Communications

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Another loaded field and the Husky women's cross country team was right in the thick of it once again, taking fifth at the Joe Piane Invitational and finishing ahead of seven squads ranked in the top-30 including a pair of top-10 teams. Freshman Mel Smart led the Huskies for the second race in a row, taking fourth, with senior Katie Rainsberger coming across 13th.

Held at the Burke Golf Course and hosted by Notre Dame, the Joe Piane Invitational featured 11 of the top-30 teams in the country including the sixth-ranked Dawgs.

The Huskies scored 144 points to finish fifth, beating out the likes of 2nd-ranked New Mexico, 9th-ranked Wisconsin, No. 12 Notre Dame, and No. 14 Ole Miss among others. Unranked Utah was the surprise winner with 110 points followed by No. 1-ranked Colorado in second with 116. The Huskies finished close behind 17th-ranked Florida State (129) and No. 8 North Carolina State (139).

"We beat some good teams today but most importantly we exposed some weaknesses, which is why we came out here," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Maurica Powell. "The girls ran great through 4k but Lilli had an off day and we were shaky at the fifth spot which cost us points."

Smart, the freshman from Perth, Australia, proved herself again, mixing it up well with multiple individual NCAA Champions and crossing the line in fourth-place in 16:22 for the 5,000-meters. Rainsberger had another strong outing in 13th-place in 16:33. Junior Allie Schadler was 28th in 16:52, and sophomore Shona McCulloch was 39th in 16:58. Senior Lilli Burdon placed 60th in 17:11 to cap the scoring, followed by sophomore Camila David-Smith in 65th in 17:14, then sophomore Kelly Makin (115th; 17:52) and sophomore Madison Heisterman (119th; 17:54).

"Melany was fantastic and Shona was much improved and also had a great close," said Powell. "We are a good team and just need to clean up a few things. We'll also add a few more girls in two weeks at Pre-Nationals."

Freshman Andrea Markezich also ran for the women in the open race, and placed 24th in a field of 130 runners in 18:00.

Pre-Nationals will be the third straight trip to Indiana for the women, coming up on Oct. 19, back in Terre Haute.

Washington Cross Country
Joe Piane Invitational
October 4, 2019
Notre Dame, Ind. | Burke Golf Course

Women's 5,000m
Team Standings: 1. Utah 110; 2. Colorado 116; 3. Florida State 129; 4. North Carolina State 139; 5. Washington 144; 6. Wisconsin 157; 7. New Mexico 171; 8. Notre Dame 234; 9. Minnesota 265; 10. Ole Miss 288; 11. Butler 300; 12. Boston College 308; 13. Indiana 349; 14. Alabama 384; 15. Iowa State 421; 16. Weber State 422; 17. Auburn 442; 18. Arizona 444; 19. North Carolina 453; 20. Purdue 473; 21. Iowa 497; 22. Colorado State 534; 23. Utah Valley 555; 24. Bradley 588.

Individual Champion: Weini Kelati, New Mexico, 16:01.

Husky Competitors: 4. Mel Smart, 16:22; 13. Katie Rainsberger, 16:33; 28. Allie Schadler, 16:52; 39. Shona McCulloch, 16:58; 60. Lilli Burdon, 17:11; 65. Camila David-Smith, 17:14; 115. Kelly Makin, 17:52; 119. Madison Heisterman, 17:54.