SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sophomore Maria McDaniel continues to impress for the Western Michigan cross country team as she claimed her second race of the season in the Gold Division of the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind. The Broncos finished in fifth place out of 19 teams with a score of 170. Butler won the Gold Division with a score of 106, Indiana State second with 114, Saint Louis third with 125, and IUPUI fourth with 126.

"One of our goals going in was to try and run together and we did a much better job of that today," Head coach Kelly Lycan said. "Sarah (Anderson), Hanne (Christensen), and Claire (Gilbert) all ran together and that really helped us out today."

McDaniel finished with a time of 16:58.4 for first place while Butlers Katherine Turner finished second with a time of 17:10.6. For the Broncos, freshman Sarah Anderson took 22^nd with a time of 18:09.7 setting a new 5K personal record while sophomore Claire Gilbert finished in 38^th, also setting a new PR with a time of 18:21.6. Sophomore Hanne Christensen finished in 50^th (18:36.6) while Daya Wagh rounded out the Broncos top-five as she finished in 61^st with a new PR time of 18:44.8.

Four WMU runners competed in the Open 5K before the Blue Division ran. Amy Littlefield finished 34^th (18:49.0), Renee Letz finished 72^nd (19:46.7), Makenzie Evers took 75^th (19:54.4) and Emily Davis came in 99^th (21:31.7). Davis and Letz each set 5K personal records in the race while Rebecca Tracy won the race with a time of 17:24.2 while running unattached.

Next weekend, the Broncos head to the Michigan Intercollegiates on Oct. 9 in Hillsdale, Mich. with the race scheduled at 4 p.m.