LOUISVILLE, KY – The University of the Cumberlands women's cross country team returned to competition Saturday at The Great Louisville Classic, placing 21st out of a loaded 24 team field in the Women's 5K Gold race with 540 points, and were second out of the NAIA competition in the field.
Jule Krauss led the Patriots for the second time this season, finishing 62nd overall in 18:50.5. The freshman continued her strong opening stretch of the season, giving Cumberlands its first scoring finish of the day.
 
Heather Durrant followed closely behind, crossing in 18:54.4 to place 70th overall. Anslee Crosby then moved into the scoring lineup with a 19:43.3 performance for 133rd, while Tigist Bergman finished just over a second later in 19:45.0 to place 135th.
 
Christie George completed the scoring five in 19:49.1, giving the Patriots five runners under 19:50. Cumberlands' scoring five averaged 19:24.46, with just 58.6 seconds separating Krauss from George.
 
The Patriots continued to show depth behind the scoring group as Rylee Schaffner crossed in 20:01.4 and Megan Kitchens followed in 20:03.7. Brianna Hillock added a 20:06.7, while Molly Beckham (20:37.2), Bella Rechtin (20:37.7), Emma Quillen (20:41.0), Lucy Sullivan (21:14.4), and Courtney George (22:00.4) rounded out the UC contingent.
 
UC finished two places behind NAIA competitors Olivet Nazarene and defeated USC Upstate, Indianapolis, and Columbia.
 
Cumberlands will return to action on Friday, Oct. 23, at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge in Knoxville, Tennessee.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on X - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.