Women's cross country shows improvement at Drews/Neubauer Invite

WEST SALEM, Wis. – Paced by a healthy Lindsey Borgomainerio, the Simpson women's cross country team placed 29th of 30 teams at the Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational on Saturday.

Hampered by injury much of the season, Borgomainerio placed 190th overall, completing the 6,000-meter course in 24:52.6.

Third-year head coach Heath Moenck was happy with the improvements he saw from his team compared to last season at this meet, which is highly regarded as one of the premier Division III competitions in the nation.

"It was great to have Lindsay return to form to lead our team," Moenck said of last year's top runner. "Our team showed significant improvement from last year at this meet, and this environment will prepare us for the championship phase of our season."

The "championship phase" Moenck speaks of is right around the corner. This meet marks the final competition before the Iowa Conference Championship, which will take place Nov. 2 in Pella, Iowa.

Rounding out Simpson's top seven were: Jessica Gronke (199th, 24:56.7), Briana McCloskey (244th, 25:13.4), RaeLea Jones (245th, 25:13.9), Jessie Eyerly (252nd, 25:17.7), Erin Boggess (257th, 25:21.8) and Chezlie Johnson (274th, 25:35.9).