MADISON, Wis. – Freshman Mercy Kinyanjui led the Toledo women's cross country team to an impressive showing at the Pre-Nationals 6K race on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin, the site of the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship.

Kinyanjui came in 17th place and the Rockets finished 19th as a team against a 33-team field that featured the top five programs in the country and 29 teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the weekly U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) poll.

The Rockets finished ahead of seven teams that are either ranked or receiving votes: Boston College (No. 24), Harvard (No. 34), Arkansas (No. 29), Utah State (No. 32), Tennessee (No. 15), Louisville (No. 31) and Ole Miss (No. 22).

Kinyanjui led Toledo for the second consecutive race, recording a time of 19:51.0 in the 6K event. Senior Laura Nicholson was the second Rocket to cross the finish line, coming in 63rd with a time of 20:21.7.

Lianna Surtz, Lou Trois and Melody Jebiwot rounded out Toledo's top five finishers. Surtz finished with a time of 20:52.3 while Trois followed closely behind with a mark of 20:56.8 and Jebiwot earned finished with a time of 21:10.7.

"Mercy had an outstanding race today and executed a perfect race plan," said head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "That was a big time run by her in a field that will very closely mimic the NCAA race that she will see in six weeks. This was an All-American level race. Laura had a terrific day as well and is really starting to get cross country figured out. We were a little shaky after that but did enough to come away with some important wins. We are still looking to put together our best team race and I think we are close to figuring it out."

UP NEXT
The Rockets are back in action at the MAC Cross Country Championships in Muncie, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Wisconsin Pre-Nationals Race
Women's 6K | Oct. 19, 2024

Team Results
1. No. 2 BYU – 105 points
2. No. 3 Washington – 157 points
3. No. 1 Northern Arizona – 165 points
4. No. 28 West Virginia – 204 points
5. No. 4 Notre Dame – 213 points
6. No. 17 New Mexico – 234 points
7. No. 5 NC State – 290 points
8. No. 13 Wisconsin – 343 points
9. No. 39 Florida State – 361 points
10. No. 11 Florida – 365 points
11. No. 8 Stanford – 371 points
12. No. 19 Oklahoma State – 408 points
13. No. 25 Minnesota – 413 points
14. No. 14 Furman – 416 points
15. No. 23 Syracuse – 453 points
16. No. 27 Lipscomb – 475 points
17. No. 30 Michigan State – 485 points
18. No. 36 Texas – 495 points
19. No. 35 Toledo – 516 points
20. No. 24 Boston College – 529 points
21. No. 41 Liberty – 541 points
22. No. 34 Harvard – 556 points
23. No. 29 Arkansas – 565 points
24. No. 32 Utah Valley – 566 points
25. No. 15 Tennessee – 575 points
26. No. 31 Louisville – 578 points
27. No. 43 UConn – 583 points
28. No. 42 Wake Forest – 630 points
29. No. 38 Iowa State – 631 points
30. Michigan – 668 points
31. Tulane – 770 points
32. Wyoming – 790 points
33. No. 22 Ole Miss – 799 points

Toledo Individual Results
17. Mercy Kinyanjui – 19:51.0
63. Laura Nicholson – 20:21.7
130. Lianna Surtz – 20:52.3
136. Lou Trois – 20:56.8
176. Melody Jebiwot – 21:10.7
214. Karina James – 21:38.1
226. Emily Vining – 21:49.9
237. Faith Linga – 22:06.1

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