NORTON, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's cross country team finished seventh in the Tommy Evans Invitational, hosted by NCAA Division I University of Akron at the Silver Creek Metro Park Cross Country Trails.

BW finished seventh of nine teams with 135 points, just three points behind fifth place Cleveland State University and two behind Point Park (Pa.) University. Host Akron won the team title with 32 points.

Coordinator of Cross Country and Track and Field and Head Cross Country Coach Joe Eby switched to the Tommy Evans meet from the Ohio Wesleyan University Invitational that the Yellow Jackets competed in last year to be able to compete against the local Division I runners. BW was the only Division III team competing in the meet

Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets for the second meet in a row was junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC performer Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View) as she placed 16th in a career-best 5k time of 18 minutes, 49 seconds. Sophomore All-Great Lakes Region performer Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover) finished 23rd in a career-best time of 19:00.2.

In her first cross country meet since 2016, junior two-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC performer Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit) ran a career-best time of 19:02.2 to finish in 25th place. Sophomore Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) continued her hot start to the season as she ran a career-best time of 19:05.7 to finish in 28th place while freshman Sophi Perez (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow-Munroe Falls) ran a time of 20:26.8 in her first collegiate 5k event, finish 63rd.

BW will have a week to continue training before racing again on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Purple Valley Classic, hosted by Williams College at Mount Greylock High School in Williamstown, Massachusetts.