CHICAGO- The Gonzaga women's cross country team made a strong statement to open the full cross country season when they took third place in a crowded field at the Lakefront Invitational.
The Zags defeated six ranked teams, including the seventh ranked team in the country, as they impressed on the national stage. Beat only by NC State, the second ranked team in the nation, and an impressive ranked Northwestern team, the Zags have asserted themselves as a team to contend with this season. Beyond defeating #7 Providence, they also beat the #11 team in the nation in Washington, establishing the Zags as a major player in the west coast in running this season. Other notable teams that GU beat today include #18 UNC, #21 Wisconsin, #29 Minnesota and #30 Boston College.
The successful morning was led by Jessica Frydenlund, who finished sixth after running a personal best time of 19:56.6. Frydenlund moved into fifth place all time in the 6k in program history with her run today. Logan Hofstee and Willow Collins each finished in the top 20, running times of 20:09.1 and 20:13.6 respectively. Charlotte Dillon ran a solid 20:31.6 in her first collegiate 6k, and Alexi Fogo rounded out the scoring 5 with a 20:40.8 finish. The Zags finished all five runners before four separate ranked teams were able to score their fourth runner.
The Zags consistently held their spot the entire race, taking third from the first 3k and never letting go in a remarkably consistent run. They finished with a spread of only 44 seconds between their first and fifth runner, establishing this race as a solid team effort to get a great result in a stacked national meet.
Now that the Zags have finished their first 6k race of the year, they will turn their attention to the rest of the season. The WCC conference championships will be hosted at the brand new Spokane Valley Cross Country Course on November 1st. The Zags will run in several meets in the Inland Northwest before then, including when they return to action at the Inland Empire Classic in Lewiston, Idaho on October 11th.
