ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Today the Calvin women's cross country team traveled to Rock Island, Ill. to compete in the Interregional Invitational hosted by Augustana University.
 
The Knights finished the day with 293 points which put them in ninth place out of a field of 40 teams.
 
Senior Sophie Bull (Denver, Colo./Denver Christian) was the first to cross the finish line for Calvin when she took twenty-third place with a time of 22:20.6. Bull was in second place individually until the final 300 meters where she slowed and was passed by the pack. Junior Hailey Erickson (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) was the next Knight to finish when she crossed at 23:01.4 while freshman Emma Wierenga (Grafton, Mass./Whitinsville Christian) was close behind with a time of 23:01.4.
 
Sophomore Alexis Ball (Grand Rapids, Mich. Traverse City Central) and senior Catie Kramer (Pickering, Ontario/Durbarton) rounded out the scoring for the Knights when they crossed the finish line at 23:14.9 and 23:21.2, respectively.
 
Freshman duo Brynn Ellenbecker (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) (23:24.3) and Jonathah Bouwman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian/Universidad of Catolica Pablo) (23:40.1) also competed in the field along with fellow freshman Ayla Holben (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) (23:48.7), junior Alaina Smith (Sterling, Ill./Seoul Foreign School) (23:53.5), and senior Naomi Dykstra (Grand Rapids, Mich./City) (24:07.1).

COACHES COMMENTS: "I'm proud of how this team navigated the competitive atmosphere in the midst of unexpected conditions," said head coach Nicole Kramer. "Sophie Bull had another phenomenal race and was holding strong in second, up until the last 100m when she collapsed from the heat. Fortunately she was still able to finish and recovered well. Hailey Erickson had an impressive day in the midst of sickness with a season-best, and her teammates rallied close behind her. Considering all this, it's awesome that we finished with a team score in the 200's and took 9th in this field. We are still scratching the surface of how good this team can be in another few weeks."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, November 1st when they travel to Olivet, Michigan to compete in the MIAA Championships at 11 AM.