Cross Country Update

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 16) - In their final tune-up prior to the MAC Championships, Western Michigan placed 11th out of 31 teams at the Chile Pepper Festival, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

WMU scored 318 points, missing the top ten by just two points. SMU captured top team honors with 67 points, followed by Arkansas (76) and Wyoming (158).

Senior Meryl Marsh led the Broncos with a 44th-place finish, completing the six-kilometer course in a time of 22:14.9. Rachael Lowe placed 59th (22:31.8) and Carrie Smeltzer 65th (22:40.4) among a competitive field of 245 runners.

"We got out a little slow and had to work our way through people, but I thought our girls did a good job of fighting through that. We ran hard and gain some confidence," said coach Kelly Lycan.

Western Michigan has this week off before traveling to the Mid-American Conference Championships on Oct. 30 in Ypsilanti.