LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Junior Anna Wells etched her name in the Bellarmine University women's record book as the Knights competed Saturday morning in the Gold Race at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park.

Wells crossed the finish line in 18:40.0 in the 5k race, which ranks as the 50th-best time in program history. She paced the Knights by placing 172nd overall in the mammoth 399-member field.

Junior Emma Wells (177th) was less than 2 seconds back at 18:41.8. Sophomore Justice Pohlman-Singleton (183rd, 18:43.1), senior Lauren Masden (221st, 18:56.6) and freshman Hannah Ellis (229th, 18:59.5) comprised the rest of the Knights' top 5.

"The women ran very well," Coach Angela Hapner Musk said. "I wanted our front groups to get out aggressively and for everyone to be focused on running their own race and not get swept up and pulled out too fast. And they executed very well!"

Bellarmine (899) placed 36th out of 44 teams. Michigan (39) won the team title and Wisconsin (75) was the runner-up. West Virginia's Ceili McCabe was the individual champion, finishing in 16:27.8.

"I didn't expect an 18:48 team average would only place us 36th (I thought we'd be top-30), but I'm not at all disappointed," Musk said. "Individually, we had so many very strong performances and having our top 5 under 19 is a great sign of the direction we are headed. I haven't compared all the numbers yet, but I don't think there's a member of our team who didn't run a PR or significant season best." 

Bellarmine will compete Oct. 15 in the Bradley Pink Classic.

BELLARMINE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
172. Anna Wells (18:40.0); 177. Emma Wells (18:41.8); 183. Justice Pohlman-Singleton (18:43.1); 221. Lauren Masden (18:56.6); 229. Hannah Ellis (18:59.5); 248. Ellie Schroeder (19:05.1); 274. Chloe Powell (19:20.3); 322. Morgan Kannapel (19:46.4); 349. Erin Luckett (20:13.0); 366. Trisha Sexton (20:35.5); 373. Riley Glenn (20:55.3); 376. Neville Wintergerst-Burch (21:03.5); 377. Madison Adkins (21:13.2); 379. Alli Manley (21:14.5); 395. Olivia Brown (22:42.7); 396. Alivia Ryan (23:08.8); 399. Abby Jaworski (24:40.8)

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