Wayne State University Athletics

Marissa Krynak

Emily Gordon recorded a season-best second place finish on Saturday in Muskegon.

Women's Cross Country 10/14/2023 3:27:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Third Place for Women's Cross Country in Regular Season Finale at Muskegon Jayhawk Invitational

The Warriors finished behind Grand Valley State and Aquinas College with 86 points.

MUSKEGON, Mich. -- In the final regular season meet of the fall season for the Wayne State University women's cross country team, the squad placed third out of nine programs at the Muskegon Jayhawk Invitational on Saturday from the University Park Golf Course.

WSU scored 86 points for the five-kilometer race, behind Grand Valley State (23 points) and three points NAIA member Aquinas College (83). The Lakers entered this weekend as the No. 1 Division II program in the nation, along with No. 1 in the Midwest Region. SVSU also was regionally and nationally ranked by the USTFCCCA coming into the meet.

The event was hosted by the Muskegon Jayhawks and featured 111 runners from nine schools (plus unattached runners) -- including many from the Green and Gold. Runners had to battle rainy and windy conditions in Muskegon in addition to the opposing participants.

Winning the 5K women's race was Jordyn Hopgood from GVSU with a time of 18:14.18. Following behind her in second position with a strong performance was Emily Gordon (Northville, Mich. / Northville) with a time of 18:35.08 to lead the Warrior contingent. It's the first top-10 of the season for the junior and third top-20 effort in four races this fall.

Mattie Drennan (Clarkston, Mich. / Clarkston) put in a 12th place run with a mark of 19:06.12. The result was her second-best finishing position following an eighth-place result at the season-opening Skippers Cross Country Showcase on September 1.

In 27th was Layla Martini (Casnovia, Mich. / Kent City) with a mark of 19:55.26, while Sarah Greb (Washington, Mich. / Romeo) collected 32nd overall in the field (20:07.99). Both Warriors had participated in the first three races of 2023 before not racing at the Lewis Crossover Invite on October 7.

Rachel Felstow (Leonard, Mich. / Romeo) and Emily Esker (Livonia, Mich. / Franklin) crossed the line back-to-back in 49th and 50th, respectively. Felstow posted a time of 20:50.96 in her third competition of the campaign, with Esker's third meet of the season ending with a mark of 20:52.11.

The final two Warriors to finish on Saturday in Muskegon were Natalie Davies (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea) and Jillian Vera (Saugatuck, Mich. / Saugatuck). Davies ranked 57th with a time of 21:10.85. Vera recorded a finishing mark of 21:27.70 for a 62nd-place result. They were like several Green and Gold members to not compete at Lewis, but were present in all three of the other meets prior to the Romeoville, Ill. event.

For a third time this season, Anna Gdowski (Northville, Mich. / Northville) ran unattached. Her time of 19:24.36 was not eligible for team points as an unattached runner, but the result was enough for 20th in the 111-person field and beat her other 5K time of 22:34.30 at the Skippers Cross Country Showcase by nearly three minutes.

"Emily Gordon had a big breakthrough today in taking the runner-up spot, and Mattie Drennan looked strong out there as well. We were pretty aggressive early and it paid off, with most of our women holding their spot or moving up late in the race. This was a really nice effort from the whole group, with Layla, Sarah, and Rachel filling the 3-4-5 spots for us. Overall, a very positive day and a good way to end the regular season and get us ready for the GLIAC meet next weekend! We are ready to do big things in Houghton," said head coach Grant Lofdahl on the effort at the University Park Golf Course.

Wayne State kept its top performers off the course on Saturday in Muskegon to not only give some talented members of the squad an opportunity for a final regular season tune-up, but also so they can continue preparations for the GLIAC Championships next weekend. The Warriors will be in Houghton, Mich. and Michigan Tech Trails on Saturday, October 21. The women's six-kilometer conference championship race begins the morning and is set to start at 10 a.m., with the men's race to follow shortly after.

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Players Mentioned

Natalie Davies: 5' 7"; Junior

Mattie Drennan: 5' 6"; Junior

Emily Esker: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

Rachel Felstow: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Anna Gdowski: 5' 8"; Freshman

Emily Gordon: 5' 7"; Junior

Sarah Greb: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Layla Martini: 5' 5"; Junior

Jillian Vera: 5' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Natalie Davies
: 5' 7"; Junior

Mattie Drennan
: 5' 6"; Junior

Emily Esker
: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

Rachel Felstow
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Freshman

Anna Gdowski
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Emily Gordon
: 5' 7"; Junior

Sarah Greb
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Layla Martini
: 5' 5"; Junior

Jillian Vera
: 5' 2"; Senior