Salem, Wis. – The Wheaton cross country teams returned to action on Saturday with participation in the Jim Drews/Tori Neubuer Invitational, hosted by UW-La Crosse. The Thunder women's program finished fifth in the 30-team field.

UW-La Crosse finished first in the women's standings with 32 points, followed by College of St. Benedict in second with 122 points, UW-Oshkosh scored 167 points in third place, Bethel (Minn.) placed fourth with 186 points, Wheaton was fifth with 198 point. UW-Whitewater scored 206 points in sixth place, St. Olaf was seventh with 220 points, Gustavus Adolphus was eighth with 272 points, Aurora finished ninth with 286 points and Viterbo rounded out the top-10 with 286 points.

Fiona Smith of the College of St. Benedict finished first with a time of 20:58.45 on the 6K course. Maddie Hannan of UW-La Crosse finished second with a time of 22:02.34 and Aurora's Deyanneira Colon Maldonado was third in 22:09.49.

Wheaton senior Alyssa Mantia (PICTURED LEFT) was the top performer for the Thunder in 10^th place in the 364-woman field. Mantia posted a time of 22:39.90 on the 6K course. Fellow senior Susannah Bennett was just behind Mantia in 13^th place with a time of 22:52.56. Freshman Louisa Brorson posted a time of 23:39.14 in 33^rd place. Fellow freshman Sara Quintanilla was 87^th in 24:33.99 and senior Chloe Veth was 92^nd in 24:37.45. Junior Hope Clark recorded a time of 24:49.99 in 114^th place. Destiny Rogers was 126^th in 25:03.39 and Elizabeth LaBrin was 137^th in 25:10.64.

Wheaton is off until the 2022 CCIW Championships on October 29 at St. James Farm Forest Preserve in Warrenville, Illinois.