SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Toledo women's cross country team had an outstanding showing at Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invitational on Friday morning, finishing ahead of No. 27 Oregon State and six other Division I team receiving votes in the Women's Blue 5K Race at the Burke Golf Course. The Rockets finished seventh as a team and were led by sophomore Joy Chirchir. She paced the Rockets with a personal-best 16:21.8 time to secure an 11th-place individual finish.

Toledo raced alongside five of the top-30 nationally ranked women's Division I teams in the country, including NC State, New Mexico, Alabama, and finished ahead of No. 27 Oregon State, which came in eighth place.

No. 1-ranked NC State won the meet, followed by No. 3 New Mexico, and No. 10 Alabama. The three schools finished in the same order at last season's race.

"We are right where we need to be at this time of year," Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough said. "We were really solid today, but I know we are an even better team down the road. We are going to be better over 6K. Faith Linga, who was a little bit off today, can and will run upfront with Joy Chirchir, which will make a significant impact. Overall, it was a very good day for the first big meet of the season."

Individually, all nine of the Rockets ran for personal-best times under the 18-minute mark. Chirchir finished first for the Midnight Blue and Gold, followed by senior Faith Linga and junior Lou Trois, who finished 43rd and 44th, respectively. Junior Julia Dames ran to a 59th place finish with a PR of 17:09.7 and senior Madeline Vining was on her tail with a 60th-place finish with a PR of 17:09.8. Senior Emily Vining also set a PR of 17:18.7 and finished 91st overall. Freshman Bailey Ranta finished in the top-100 in her first race as a Rocket with a time of 17:35.1, good for 98th-place. Freshman McKinley Fielding beat her 5K time for the third straight meet, with a time of 17:41.1.

In the Women's Open 5K, Paige Embaugh finished 30th with a PR of 18:16.2. Five Rockets ran unattached in their first race this season, including freshman Karina James (14/ 17:45.0), sophomore Alex Bauer (15/ 17:47.3), freshman Jaydon Cirincione,(17/ 17:52.0), and freshman Lianna Surtz (21/ 17:59.1).

Toledo will take a couple of weeks off to prepare for Wisconsin's Nuttycomb invite on Friday, oct. 14 in Madison, Wisc.

Joe Piane Invitational
South Bend, Ind. | Burke Golf Course
Friday, Sept. 30, 2022

Women's Blue 5K
1.  No. 1 NC State – 55 pts.
2. No. 3 New Mexico – 68 pts.
3. No. 10 Alabama – 70 pts.
4. No. 8 Notre Dame – 146 pts.
5. Florida State – 175 pts.
6. Liberty – 187 pts.
7. Toledo – 213 pts.
8. No. 27 Oregon State – 256 pts.
9. Boise State – 258 Pts.
10. Bradley – 280 pts.
11. San Francisco – 293 pts.
12. Penn State – 302 pts.
13. Vanderbilt – 362 pts.
14. Butler – 379 pts.
15. Charlotte – 380 pts.
16. Southern Utah - 412
17. Purdue – 424 pts.
18. Navy – 432 pts.
19. SMU – 519 pts.
20. UC Santa Barbara – 533 pts.

Toledo Individual Women
11. Joy Chirchir – 16:21.8 *PR
43. Faith Linga – 16:52.6 *PR
44. Lou Trois – 16:54.8 * PR
59. Julia Dames – 17:09.7 *PR
60. Madeline Vining – 17:09.8 *PR
91. Emily Vining – 17:18.7 *PR
98. Bailey Ranta – 17:35.1
104. McKinley Fielding – 17:41.1 *PR
130. Marina Gross – 17:56.5 *PR

Women's Open 5K
14. Karina James – 17:45.0
15. Alex Bauer – 17:47.3
17. Jaydon Cirincione – 17:52.0
21. Lianna Surtz – 17:59.1
30. Paige Embaugh – 18:16.2 *PR
45. Margrett Watt – 18:34.2
50. Claire Steigerwald – 18:43.3
76. Jordyn Boyer – 20:19.0