WATERTOWN, Wis. -- It was a warm and sunny day for today's Maranatha Invitational. The Mount Mary University cross country competed in the event in Watertown, Wis. and took third in the race. The picturesque background may seem pleasant to the everyday walker, but the back end of the race tested the most trained runners with the undulating terrain on Saturday Sept. 27th starting at 11:00 am.

Just the third race of the season for the Blue Angels, the team had to slug it out mentally in order to maintain the focus and body discipline needed to beat the courses many uneven stretches. This contest marks the second five kilometer race for MMU, and the times continue to progress towards the front of the pack. Hayley Hove (So./Golden Valley, Minn.) led the Blue Angels with a 23:31.9 finishing time and wound up finishing 16th overall. Natalie Guyette (So./Shiocton, Wis.) followed in her footsteps with a 23:42.1 time and would finish 17th. Danielle Sherrer continued to improve as well with a 23:55.1 which is a full minute off of her previous five kilometer race, she was just a few steps behind Hove and Guyette finishing at 19th overall.

Following today's contest, the Blue Angels have a week before their next race. MMU is set to race at the Warrior Invitational hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College in West Allis, Wis. at Greenfield Park. The starting gun for the Warrior Invitational will sound off on Saturday Oct. 4th at 11:00 am.