GENESEO, N. Y. – The Messiah women's cross country team competed in the Mike Woods Invitational at the National Warplane Museum on Saturday morning, hosted by SUNY Geneseo. The event was a 6K race as Teddi Powell recorded a team-best time of 23:31, placing 31st overall out of a total of 321 participants. Of the 29 teams competing, the Falcons notched an impressive ninth-place finish with 283 total points.
 
Powell improved on her 6K time from last week (24:31), shaving a whole minute off her previous season-best mark. Following Powell was Chloe Wester, who turned in a strong time of 24:07. Like Powell, Wester improved on her 6K time (25:13) from last week's competition. Ali Schutte and Katelyn Prothero also made positive contributions for Messiah, recording times of 24:11 and 24:16, respectively. The duo finished just five seconds apart from each other and each recorded new 6K season-best times. Other notable Falcons finishes included Kathleen Walstrom (24:41), Amber Fogelsanger (25:11), and Cassidy Chandler (25:20).
 
Sarah Bath, finishing with a time of 25:58, finished just ahead of teammate Natalie Hamlen, who recorded a time of 26:06. Connor Coggins and Hannah Steckbeck kept pace with each other for much of the race, with Coggins turning in a time of 25:43 as Steckbeck crossed the line in 25:53.  
 
SUNY Geneseo earned the team victory in the meet, totaling just 27 team points. Following SUNY Geneseo in the team standings were Case Western (118), Middlebury (129), and Rochester Institute of Technology (136).
 
Against strong competition, the Falcons rose to the occasion, as the personal improvements were widespread.
 
What's Next
Messiah travels to DeSales University next Saturday, Oct. 9, to compete in the DeSales University Invitational (6) at 11:15 a.m.