Michigan
Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational
Wolverines Finish Third at Penn State Spiked Shoe Invite
9/10/2021 11:32:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Site: State College, Pa. (Blue and White Golf Courses)
Event: Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational
Distance: Six Kilometers (3.73 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 3rd of 6 teams (54 points)
Top U-M Individual: Ericka VanderLende, 5th (20:49.1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 2 -- at Greater Louisville Classic (Louisville, Ky.), 9:45 a.m.
• Complete Results (PDF)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team finished third in a back-and-forth battle with three other nationally ranked teams Friday morning (Sept. 10) at the Penn State Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational.
Led by top-10 finishers in fifth-place Ericka VanderLende, sixth-place Kayla Windemuller and eighth-place Katelynne Hart, the Wolverines came up just short of the win in the six-kilometer (3.73-mile) race on Penn State's Blue and White Golf Courses with 54 total points. Narrowly ahead of them in the team standings were winner No. 20 Georgetown with 48 points and No. 9 Minnesota with 51.
Vote-receiving Syracuse was a distant fourth with 91 points, followed by No. 28 Ohio State with 105.
The Wolverines also were third halfway through the race at the 3,100-meter split with 55 points, trailing Minnesota's 40 and Georgetown's 49. In addition to strong frontrunning by Vanderlende, Hart and Windemuller, the Wolverines got a boost from a 13-spot improvement to 15th for Samantha Saenz and a 19-spot jump for Anne Forsyth to 20th to round out Michigan's top five at the checkpoint.
By the time they reached the penultimate split point at 4,800 meters, Michigan had pulled into a narrow lead with 47 points to 52 for both the Hoyas and Gophers. Michigan's top five held relatively steady, with a combined seven spots gained and none lost, combined with slides backwards for both Georgetown (+3) and especially Minnesota (+12).
Ultimately, the Wolverines were unable to hold on to that position over the final three-quarters of a mile, while the Hoyas and Gophers held steady this time.
Michigan will return to action next month for the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 2.
Full Michigan Results
5. Ericka VanderLende -- 20:49.1
6. Kayla Windemuller -- 20:49.7
8. Katelynne Hart -- 21:01.6
16. Anne Forsyth -- 21:28.5
19. Samantha Saenz -- 21:32.3
26. Alice Hill -- 21:50.7
33. Samantha Tran -- 22:10.5
37. Amber Gall -- 22:21.3
40. Julia Vanitvelt -- 22:26.8
45. Lucy Petee -- 22:34.4
Players Mentioned
