The Hope College women's cross country team delivered a strong collective performance at the Blugold Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Friday, earning a fifth-place finish out of 36 teams.

With a team score of 183 points, Hope was led by senior Molly Durow (Glenview, Illinois / Glenbrook South HS), who turned in a stellar seventh-place 6K finish in 22 minutes, 28.0 seconds.

Freshman Taylor Mitchell (Otsego, Michigan / Otsego) followed in 30th with a time of 23:21.4, while sophomore Mary England (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Kalamazoo Central) and junior Grace Baldauff (Pittsburg, Pennsylvania / Northgate) packed tightly in 38th and 43rd, clocking 23:32.5 and 23:35.1 respectively. 

Senior Lexi Deighan (Birmingham, Michigan / Seaholm) rounded out the scoring five in 67th place at 23:57.7, helping secure Hope's top-five team result.

Freshman Dylan Ballin (Brookville, Ohio / Brookville), ran a 24:15.9 for 93rd place, freshman Miranda Sawvel (Laramie, Wyoming / Centennial) ran a 24:25.87 for 108th place, freshman Anna Sybenga (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) clocked a 24:34.4 for 122nd, and freshman Camille Kraai (Whitehall, Michigan / Whitehall) finished at 25:50.7 for 216th. 

Four Hope runners competed individually in the first 6,000-meter heat. 

Junior Elise Bodary (New Boston, Michigan / Father Gabriel Richard) led the group with a 3rd-place finish in 24:29.9, followed by junior Annika Sytsma (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Kalamazoo Christian) in 8th at 24:50.4. 

Senior Claire Vellinga (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) placed 11th in 25:01.8, and junior Katie Fischer (Adrian, Michigan / Adrian) finished 19th with a time of 25:33.5.

Hope runs again on Saturday, Oct.. 4 at the Calvin University Knight Invite at 10 a.m. in Grand Rapids.