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IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Illinois women's cross country team competed at the Big Ten Championships on a cool and breezy Sunday morning at Ashton Cross Country Course on the University of Iowa campus. The Illini finished ninth in the 14-team field, equaling last year's finish despite two additional teams.

"I think we have to acknowledge that today was not our best day," said head coach Scott Jones. "With that said, we had some people step up and run very well. If we get clicking and have everyone run up to the best of their abilities on one day, we can be quite good. Unfortunately, today was not that day."

The Orange and Blue were led by Hanna Winter's 38th-place performance. She completed the six-kilometer course in 21:08.1, a personal best by over 40 seconds. She was followed into the chute by 46th-place finisher Amanda Fox. Fox also had a lifetime-best performance for six kilometers, finishing in 21:17.6.

The next two runners for Illinois were Alyssa Schneider and Britten Petrey. Schneider finished 58th with a time of 21:27.1, while Petrey was 64th in a personal-best time of 21:31.6. Chloe Schmidt was the fifth Illini runner to cross the finish line, registering a 65th-place finish in lifetime best of 21:36.7. Colette Falsey (21:50.8) and Denise Branch (22:11.4) were the sixth and seventh Orange and Blue finishers, finishing in 74th and 87th, respectively.

Branch and Megan Lemersal (22:31.2) each recorded a personal best six-kilometer time. In total, six of the nine Illini who competed had performances that were lifetime bests on Sunday.

Michigan State's Leah O'Connor took the individual title, recording a winning time of 19:26.3. Sarah Disanza of Wisconsin was the runner-up, finishing in 19:28.1.

Michigan State also took the team title with 26 points. Wisconsin was second with 55 points, while Michigan took third with 93. Ohio State (127) and Minnesota (139) rounded out the top five of the team standings.

The Illini will have almost two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Midwest Regional. That meet, which serves as the qualifying meet for the NCAA Championships, will take place in Peoria, Ill. on Nov. 14. The gun for the women's race will go off at noon.

"I think we are good shape going forward," explained Jones. "I think we need to get back and do some work between now and the regional meet, but our season is not done. The real key is to use today as a motivating factor. We have a chance to redeem ourselves, and the regional meet is a great place to do that."

ILLINOIS RESULTS (out of 123)
38. Hanna Winter, 21:08.1
46. Amanda Fox, 21:17.6
58. Alyssa Schneider, 21:27.1
64. Britten Petrey, 21:31.6
65. Chloe Schmidt, 21:36.7
74. Colette Falsey, 21:50.8
87. Denise Branch, 22:11.4
97. Megan Lemersal, 22:31.2
98. Valerie Bobart, 22:32.3

TEAM RESULTS (out of 14)
1. Michigan State - 26
2. Wisconsin - 55
3. Michigan - 93
4. Ohio State - 127
5. Minnesota - 139
9. Illinois - 252