Toledo, Ohio – The Toledo women's cross country team started its season off strong at Friday's opening meet, clinching four of the top five positions.
Leading the Rockets and finishing first was junior Athena Welsh. Welsh crossed the finish line with a time of 14:21.5 and was followed closely by freshman Claire Steigerwald (14:22.8). Right behind Welsh and Steigerwald were seniors Jennifer Lichter (14:23.9) and Petronela Simiuc (14:24.1).
"We wanted them in groups so we could work on running as a team and just really preview the course," said head coach Linh Nguyen, "They actually finished better in the team race than I thought they would based on our strategy, but I think that just goes to show that they're strong right now and in pretty good shape.