NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In its fourth meet of the season, the Western Michigan cross country team finished fourth in the Women's Gold Division 5K at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon. Senior captain Sarah Anderson led the way for the Broncos, with a personal-best time this season to take fifth overall.

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"I am really proud of how the ladies raced today," commented WMU associate head coach Taryn Sheehan. "They really took advantage of a good competitive race situation. The whole pack got off the starting line and did a great job of trying to set up the race. We need to work on the middle part of the race but that will come in the next few weeks."

Utah Valley won the race with a team score of 74 while Saint Louis and Indiana State took second and third. Western Michigan finished with a team score of 154 to claim fourth amongst 18 teams competing in the Gold Division.

Anderson's 17:10.3 time was a personal best this season as the captain has now finished in the top-five of both of her races this season. Senior co-captain Maria McDaniel crossed the line at 17:46.95, her best 5K of the season while Juliane Sormain finished third for the Broncos with a time of 17:54.15, good for 15th overall.

"Sarah and Maria did a great job sticking their noses in the front pack and setting the tone for the team," added Sheehan. "I think being with the front and coming away with a personal record will give Sarah a lot of confidence in the upcoming weeks. Juliane had an outstanding race and I'm really excited to see her continue to improve."

Junior Brittney Hall crossed fourth for the Brown & Gold with a 18:53.04 5K time while freshman Chloe McEachern took 70th overall with a 19:09.12 time to round out the Bronco top-five finishers. Other racers for WMU include Courtney Allen (19:39.11), and Haley Ritsema (19:46.63).

"Brittney and Chloe also had solid races and closed with some good personal bests," noted Sheehan. "We also saw some good performances from some of our younger runners. The team isn't satisfied with everything but it is a good sign for this time of the year."

The Broncos will take next weekend off before heading to the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 13 in Madison, Wisc.