Women's Cross Country captures Ken Weidt Classic title

MEQUON, Wis. – They not only ran for Lilly. They ran for Lilly the best way they could: by winning the Ken Weidt Classic. That's the way the Concordia University Wisconsin Women's Cross Country team began its 2016 season, taking first in their own 13-team event Saturday on the campus of CUW.

THE BASICS
- Location: Concordia University Wisconsin – Mequon, Wis.
- Falcons finish: 1st of 13 (35 points)
- Falcons Top Five: Nora Imperl – 23:13.3 (1st); Ashley Scheele – 24:05.2 (3rd); Molly Wirtz – 24:32.1 (6th); Hannah Erl – 25:03.0 (12th); Lindsey Fratzke – 25:05.6 (13th).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- CUW put seven runners in the top 20 on Saturday, led by Imperl (Greenfield, Wis.). She topped the 137-runner field with a time of 23:13.3.

- Scheele (Kohler, Wis.) finished in third place by clocking in at 24:05.2, while freshman Molly Wirtz (Stevens Point, Wis.) made a statement in her first championship distance race of the season. Wirtz finished sixth with a time of 24:32.1.

- Erl (Wauwatosa, Wis.) had a very strong race for the Falcons by coming in 12th place at 25:03. The final scoring runner for CUW Saturday was Fratzke (Winona, Minn.) who posted a time of 25:05.6.

- CUW had two other runners place inside the top 20 on Saturday, those being juniors Martha Kulberg (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Jennifer Goeman (Florence, Wis.). Kulberg came in 14th place at 25:09, while Goeman was 20th with a 6K time of 25:26.4.

OTHER FALCONS COMPETING
- Carolyn Arndt – 25:40.1
- Paulina Agnello – 26:22.5
- Cassandra Sprotte – 26:51
- Tess Leibham – 26:54.1
- Hannah Barrow – 26:55.3
- Leslie Christiansen – 27:19.6
- Alyssa Woo – 28:28.5
- Becca Wert – 28:42.2
- Jolyn Achs – 28:49.3
- Kaili Depies – 28:56.9

INTERVIEW WITH COACH DE LAP

THE MEET
- The Falcons finished 18 points ahead of Carthage, who was the meet runner-up with a score of 53 points. Carthage also had three runners inside the top 10 but the Falcons placed their four-six runners ahead of Carthage's fourth.

UP NEXT
- CUW will have next weekend off before heading to the Roy Griak Invitational in two weeks. CUW is scheduled to run at 9 a.m. at the large meet hosted by the University of Minnesota.