Wayne State University Athletics

Reagan Justice, Emma Willett, Charlene Yarema and Thailyia Christensen all finished in the top 10

Women's Cross Country 9/10/2021 9:52:00 PM Zachary Manning, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Cross Country picks up win at Warrior Challenge

Four Warriors finished in the top 10

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's cross country team took first place at the Warrior Challenge (6K) on Friday at Willow Metropark.

The Warriors claimed the top spot with 31 points, followed by Michigan Tech (50 points), Saginaw Valley State (52 points), Kalamazoo College (105 points), Adrian College (151 points) and Lake Superior State (180 points).

WSU was paced by freshman Reagan Justice (Canton, Mich. / Salem), who won her first collegiate race with a time of 22:33.9.

"My first college race was exciting," Justice said. "Being in a pack with my new teammates was a great experience. I felt smooth through the 3k, and pushed the effort some more after that. I still felt good and was happy to be racing again. This was a great way to start the season and I'm excited for what's to come!"

Next to cross the line was Emma Willett, (Holgate, Ohio) who finished third with a time 22:58.5.

Aiding the Warriors' first place finish was Charlene Yarema (Romeo, Mich.), who posted a time of 23:18.6. That was good for a 7th place finish. Following behind her was Thailyia Christensen (Flushing, Mich.), who finished 9th with a time of 23:23.6. Finishing out the scoring team for the Warriors was Emily Gordon (Northville, Mich.), who placed 15th with a time of 23:51.4.

Layla Martini (Casnovia, Mich. / Kent City), Jessi Lindstrom (Flushing, Mich. (Bowling Green)) and Annalee Misch (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower) also finished in the top 25 for the Warriors.

FROM COACH LOFDAHL

"Our women crushed it today. We've had some issues over the past few weeks and went into today well under 100%. But we came out of this race looking and feeling like a very good, confident team. It's definitely something to build on for the rest of the season, and we're excited about the Roy Griak Invite in two weeks. Reagan had a phenomenal debut and I can't say enough about her work ethic and attitude, the sky is the limit for her. Emma hasn't run a cross country race in three years after redshirting and then Covid, and she was phenomenal today. Charlene picked up where she left off in the spring and figured some things out during today's race. Thailyia stepped up and was clutch in the last kilometer, and Emily Gordon had an excellent collegiate debut as well."

Up Next

The Warriors will head to Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational. The race will begin at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24.

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Players Mentioned

Thailyia Christensen: 5' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

Emily Gordon: 5' 7"; Freshman

Reagan Justice: 5' 3"; Freshman

Layla Martini: 5' 4"; Freshman

Annalee Misch: 5' 5"; Freshman

Emma Willett: 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior

Charlene Yarema: 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

Jessi Lindstrom: 5' 3"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Thailyia Christensen
: 5' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

Emily Gordon
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Reagan Justice
: 5' 3"; Freshman

Layla Martini
: 5' 4"; Freshman

Annalee Misch
: 5' 5"; Freshman

Emma Willett
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior

Charlene Yarema
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

Jessi Lindstrom
: 5' 3"; Graduate Student