Contact: Devery Hodge, Sports Information Graduate Assistant 

Warrenville. Il (Oct. 29, 2023) – North Central College women's cross country team claimed third place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). The team also claimed five All-CCIW awards.  

Julia Benes was the first Cardinal to cross the tape and claimed third place overall in the meet. Benes ran a time of 22:43.6 over the 6,000 meter race to claim third place, holding a steady pace of 6:06 through the entire meet. This effort helped her claim All-CCIW First Team.  

The other four scoring Cardinals placed onto the All-CCIW Second Team. Segilola Smith-Pariola (23:29.7) to cross the line in 12th, Lilly Anderson (23:47.8) finished 16th, Nicole Brandy (23:53.8) finished 17th, and Alayna Ruach (24:07.5) finished in 20th.  

Lauren Belvel won the Women's CCIW RESPECT Award for the Cardinals as well.  

This conference meet was a very close scoring meet. Millikin University won their first team title scoring 62 points, Illinois Wesleyan University scored 65 points for second place, The Cardinals scored 68 points for third, Wheaton college scored 89 points for fourth, and Augustana scored 112 points to claim fifth place. 

The North Central Cardinals will once again run in the Red/White Invitational on Nov. 2nd back at the St. James Farm that conference was ran at as they prepare for regionals. 

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