URBANA-CHAMPAIGN – Anelise Egge crossed the finish line in 18:39.8, coming in third, and was followed closely by Cailin Kinas and Ally Schmitz (18:53.0, 18:54.02) for the Milwaukee women's cross country team at the Illini Open today.
 
As a team, the Panthers ended one point behind Illinois, finishing with 29 to the host's 28 in the 5k race.
 
"Coach Reilly had the athletes running really controlled to start the season, and I thought they handled the race strategy really well," Head Coach Andrew Basler said. "(Egge) picked up right where she left off last year, and Eileen Tocco had a lifetime best while running extremely confidently."
 
"(Schmitz) had a great race as well, which was good to see knowing how hard she worked this summer."
 
Following behind Egge, Kinas, and Schmitz at 3^rd, 5^th, and 7^th, Tocco was next in line with time of 19:03.5, good for 11^th. Rachel Helm rounded out the scoring with a time of 19:10.4 and a 12^th place finish.
 
"It was a really solid performance across the board, great execution of the race plan especially with the conditions we were handed," Assistant Coach Jake Reilly said. "With how busy September is for us, a lot of the focus is on recovery and maintaining health, so a good performance overall."
 
The Panthers are back in action September 8 in Green Bay at the Phoenix Open.