No. 2 Trojans Pepper Leaderboard in Win at Ray Bullock Invite
UPLAND, Ind. – The No. 2 Taylor women's cross country team ran away with the team title at its own Ray Bullock Invitational Friday afternoon, defeating second-place, 10th-ranked Grace by 42 points and third-place, 14th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan by 54.
Jaynie Halterman led the charge once again for TU – which finished with 23 points – as the freshman won for the third time in as many collegiate races. Halterman crossed the finish line in 21:52.6, just 0.3 seconds from the 6k course record.
Noel VanderWall took third overall among 134 competitors with a time of 22:28.3, while Sam Patterson, Kaitlin Burden and Audrey Brinkruff each finished under 23:00.0 to complete the five Trojan contributing scores.
Right behind that pack were Abby Mays, Rebekah Firestone and Ahna Neideck, who finished 10th, 11th and 13th, respectively.
Emersyn Funk came in 20th overall with a time of 23:38.0, making for 10 Taylor athletes – including sophomore transfer Malarie Pinwar, who ran unattached and finished fifth with a 22:44.1 – inside the top 20 alone. Additionally, all 17 Trojans placed among the fastest 90 times.
Clocking a 24:59.3, sophomore Addie Draper recorded her best time and placement of the season, a personal feat that was also accomplished by Firestone on Friday.
Second-ranked Taylor (53-1) looks to continue its unbeaten streak against NAIA competition in 2024 when it travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge on Oct. 26.
