Women's Cross Country | November 02, 2019
DEKALB, Ill. – The Western Michigan cross country team wrapped up the 2019 Mid-American Conference Championship at Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon, taking eight overall after being paced by senior Brittney Hall.
Eastern Michigan just edged out the host Huskies to claim the team championship, finishing just two points ahead of NIU. Miami took third, Toledo took fourth and Akron took fifth place to round out the top five. Northern Illinois' Ashley Tutt claimed the individual championship.
Hall finished in 17th place with a time of 22:32.9, just three spots and eight seconds shy of earning All-MAC honors. Classmate Juliane Sormain was WMU's second finisher, taking 41st overall with a time of 23:09.1. Sophomore Paisley Sipes ran her best race of the season and finished 46th as the Broncos' third, running a time of 23:17.4. The top five was rounded out by junior Courtney Allen in 54th at 23:27.1 and freshman Annalise James in 64th at 23:46.9.
"I was impressed but we still have some work to do," said head coach Makiba Batten. "I loved how Annalise ran today. Courtney showed some real guts today and really attacked the hills, running with a lot of heart."
Hall wrapped up the regular season finishing as WMU's no. 1 in each race she competed in.
"Brittney ran a great race today and it was disappointing that she just missed out on All-MAC," added Batten. "We are so happy with her progress and how far she has come this season, I just think that earning All-MAC would have been the icing on the cake."
Western Michigan has next week off before heading up to the University of Wisconsin for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships.
