POWELL, OHIO -- Senior Kyla Binfet (Branson, Mont./West Yellowstone) finished in the top-10 individually and tied the Trine University women's cross country 6k mark at the Ohio Wesleyan University Invitational at Liberty Park in Powell, Ohio.
As a team, the Thunder placed seventh of 18 squads with a total of 229 points. Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Hope (Mich.) College won the team title with 64 points. Otterbein (Ohio) University was second at 80 points and Kenyon (Ohio) College rounded out the top-three schools.
Binfet was the lone Trine competitor to place in the top-10 after finishing the race in a time of 22:50.7 which was good enough for eighth overall. Binfet's time matches the school's 6k record (22:50.7) which was also set by Gabbie Bates during the 2012 season.
Freshman Evonne Bultemeyer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) was the next Trine runner to cross the finish line with a mark of 23:23.4 and placed 26th overall. Junior Lacie Piekarski (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) posted the third quickest time for the Thunder at 23:52.3 and freshman Ruth Luebcke (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) was fourth in a time of 24:59.2
Freshman Elizabeth Lohman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) rounded out the Trine competitors who scored points with a time of 25:37.6 to place fifth on the team.
In addition, freshman Stacy Dibley (Bristol, Ind./Elkhart Central), Miranda Coombs (Lexington, Mich./Croswell-Lexington), Anna Willis (Homer, Mich./Homer), Marissa Shaver (Fostoria, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon) and Ashton Benson (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy) also competed in the race for Trine, but did not finish within the team score qualifying marks.
The women's cross country team will travel to Holland, Mich. for the MIAA Jamboree hosted by Hope College on Saturday, Sept. 23. The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.