An impressive victory kicked on the weekend for the Lady Elks at the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing, MI. The team beat defending Michigan state champions, Birmingham Seaholm and nationally ranked Northville to grab the team title over 40 total teams. The key to winning was the closing ability of each of the Top 6 runners. Each Elk held their ground and gained ground the last 400 meters allowing the team to escape with a 2 point victory. They were led by Lainey Studebaker who finished an impressive 2nd overall in a star studded field with her 2nd best time ever of 18:05. Freshman, Grace Kilroy had a rough day and was not able to finish the race. Fortunately, she is just fine and is expected to be back for the race this weekend! Strong performances were turned in my Kelli Walsh (28th, 19:12), Taylor Malchow (38th, 19:25), Savannah Lowe (39th, 19:28), Rachel Whitehead (43rd, 19:29) and Allison Fick, (48th, 19:37). The team also ran 11 runners in the JV race and were led by freshman, Sophie Rudolph (11th, 21:13).
On Saturday, the JV team traveled to the Alliance Invitational and performed extremely well. They team placed 2nd in the Open Race and were led by Freshman, Caitlin Cunningham (3rd, 22:01).