WHITEWATER, Wis. — The No. 15 UW-Eau Claire women's cross country team earned a third-place finish at the WIAC Championships on Saturday, totaling 88 points in the 6K race. The Blugolds finished behind No. 3 UW-La Crosse, which claimed the conference title with 23 points, and UW-Stevens Point, which placed second with 74 points. UW-Eau Claire finished ahead of the remaining conference field to secure a top-three team finish.

Bella Hooker led the Blugolds with a 13th-place finish, crossing the line in 22:19.5. Delilah Hedden followed in 16th place with a time of 22:28.5, giving UW-Eau Claire two runners inside the top 16. Brooke Marchewka placed 22nd in 22:52.3, narrowly followed by Molly Heidorn in 23rd at 22:53.5. The two Blugolds finished just 1.2 seconds apart.

Miley Smith rounded out UW-Eau Claire's scoring five, placing 31st in 23:19.3. The Blugolds had all five scoring runners finish within one minute of Hooker's time, with the scoring group separated by 59.8 seconds.

Rachel Gregorich finished 32nd in 23:20.3, just one second behind Smith. Lily Guenther completed the Blugolds top-seven with a 33rd-place finish in 23:23.9.

The Blugolds return to action on Friday, November 6, competing at the Luther Saga Cup in Decorah, Iowa, at 3:15 p.m.

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