EAST LANSING, Mich. – Freshman Paisley Sipes paced the Western Michigan cross country team on Friday afternoon at the Spartan Invitational, which featured 22 teams and over 230 student-athletes.

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"Today was good learning experience for some of our younger runners," commented WMU associate head coach Taryn Sheehan. "For a few of them it was a chance to line up in a large race setting and first time racing the 6k distance. Paisley did a really nice job of sticking her nose into the race and putting herself out there. Courtney also made some nice improvements that I hope she can build confidence form in the weeks to come."

Sipes took 51st place overall with a personal record 6k time of 23:38.7 as the freshman finished eighth overall against Mid-American Conference runners. This is the first time in her early career that Sipes crossed the finish line first amongst all Broncos. Sophomore Courtney Allen and junior Haley Ritsema followed behind to finish second and third for the Brown & Gold.

Freshman Kailyn Mince finished 138th overall with a time of 25:40.4 as the Caledonia, Mich. native took fourth for WMU. Junior Olivia VandePol rounded out the top-five Bronco finishers, clocking in at 25:48.1 for her first 6k with Western Michigan. Freshman Lila Rode was the final participant for WMU, crossing at 26:54.4.

"We are in no way satisfied with our performance today," added Sheehan. "However, we had some great learning moments that can be replicated in practice. These experiences at this time of the season will make the ladies more prepared down the stretch."

The Broncos will take next weekend off before heading to the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Sept. 28.