Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

Results

PEORIA, ILL. (Oct. 18, 2024)- After having nearly three weeks off to rest and reset, the North Central College women's cross country team traveled to Peoria, Illinois, for the Pink Classic hosted by Bradley University. In the run, the Cardinals placed sixth of 15 teams. 

The Cardinals scored 181 points in their sixth-place finish. Northwestern University placed first with 36 points, and the University of Kentucky placed second, scoring 39 points. In third, Missouri State University scored 77 points, Indiana State University placed fourth with 98 points, and in fifth, the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) scored 125 points. 

Julia Benes led the way for the Cardinals yet again, clocking in a time of 22 minutes and 41.11 seconds, good for 21st overall out of 166 competitors. Lily Anderson would be the next Cardinal to finish with a personal season best time of 23 minutes and 23.47 seconds. Anderson placed 44th overall. Segilola Smith-Pariola, running in her third meet this season, placed 55th overall with a time of 23:43.8. 

Paige Runkle (24:47.9) ran her first sub-25 minute full race this season as she placed 91st overall, and Natalie Nestler (24:56.92) rounded out the top five for the Cardinals as she finished 100th overall.

Brianna Ruiz (25:12.23) and Olivia Parmelee (25:18.17) finished off the top seven for North Central, as they finished 104th and 108th, respectively. 

The Cardinals first-to-fifth split in this meet was two minutes and 14 seconds, and their first-to seventh split was two minutes and 36 seconds. 

The next time the Cardinals run is for the CCIW Championship on Nov. 2 at St. James Farm in Warrenville, Illinois, as they look for their first CCIW Championship since 2015. The start time of the race is 12 p.m. Click HERE for the full schedule. 

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