GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Ashley Russo led the Saints to a seventh place finish in a 25-team field at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge, on Saturday, and earned their best five-runner average of the season.
As a team, SHU totaled 1:36:18.97 and averaged 19:15.79 per runner. Siena Heights beat eighth place, NAIA 21st-ranked Olivet Nazarene by an average of 17.21 seconds per runner. First place, NAIA fourth-ranked Aquinas won with a compiled time of 1:32:58.24.
Russo finished the 5k course in 18:19.84 to earn a fifth-place individual finish. Top-individual finisher was Elie Willging from Saint Xavier who crossed the finish line in 17:48.83. Russo missed second place by less than ten seconds.
Finishing in 23rd for SHU was Lauren McMahon with a time of 19:00.14.
In 34th and 47th place was Mariah Ridal and Kristin Stobinski, respectively. Ridal came in at 19:26.16 while Stobinski finished in 19:38.16.
The final SHU-scorer was Katie Figuras who cross the finish line in 19:56.16 for 66th place.
Siena Heights will be back in action when they travel to Grand Rapids, Mich. for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships, set for Saturday, Nov. 5.