CLINTON, Miss. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) women's cross country team finished 8^th out of 18 teams at the Watson Ford Invitational hosted by Mississippi College at Choctaw Trails on Saturday morning. The Badgers placed second among the nine participating NCAA Division II schools.
 
The Badgers finished with a total of 200 points and a combined team time of 2:04:04.94 over the 6,000-meter course. Houston Baptist University (HBU) won the team title with 66 points and a combined time of 1:57:47.81. SHC runners averaged a program record 24:48.99 while HBU runners averaged 23:33.57.
 
Freshman Madeline Knightly of Chicago, Ill., was again the top Badger finisher with a time of 23:55.21 to finish with 20 points in 23^rd place out of 149 runners and placing third on the SHC Women's All-Time 6k Times list. Unattached runner Benadine Chelimo took the individual title with a time of 21:48.40.
 
Also scoring for SHC were junior Grace McCann of Chicago in 29^th place and a time of 24:08.89 for 26 points and 4^th on the SHC Top Time List; senior Meghan Sullivan of Hattiesburg, Miss., in 40^th place at 24:36.67 for 36 points; sophomore Mary Elizabeth Shelton from Jacksonville, Fla., in 64^th at 25:38.87 for 58 points; and red shirt freshman Cat Dulle of Saint Charles, Mo., in 66^th at 25.45.30 for 60 points.
 
Other Badger competitors included junior Kimberly Atkinson of Trussville, Ala., in 68^th at 25:47.85; freshman Olivia Freeman out of Baker High School in Mobile, Ala., at 75^th in 26:04.42; sophomore Darby Rice of Slidell, La., in 87^th at 26:34.30; sophomore Caroline Weisinger of Mandeville, La., in 92^nd place in 26:56.79; sophomore Marley Bright of Sardis City, Ala., in 28:25.62 for 103^rd place; sophomore Meredith Tuttle of Baton Rouge, La., ran in 29:02.70 for 110^th position; senior Lauren Fischer of Marietta, Ga., in 118^th place at 30:14.20; freshman Shelby Noble of Fairhope, Ala., in 129^th place at 32:09.79; and freshman Rory Dembowski of Loxley, Ala., in 130^th place in 32:09.79.
 
After the meet, SHC head coach Craig McVey was happy with his teams' attitudes and focus, but was still looking for bigger and better things in the future. "Today both teams raced well against tough competition," he said. "We probably raced our best races of the season intensity-wise. Both teams are close to doing something special. We have two weeks to get ready for our conference meet and we need every day ahead."
 
The Badgers begin their 2019 postseason on Friday, October 25, at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Cross Country Championships at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.