SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Milwaukee women's cross country team earned 23rd place behind quality performances turned in by Janiyah Taylor and Mariah Wondra at the Joe Piane Invitational Friday afternoon, hosted by Notre Dame.

Taylor and Wondra wound up being separated by just tenths of a second in the 5K race, turning in times of 18:34.25 and 18:34.40, respectively. For Wondra, Friday's competition marked a personal best, cutting off over a minute from her previous 5K at the Huskie Classic to kick off the season. Taylor finished in 72nd, while Wondra followed in 74th. 

Avery Sommer was the next Panther to cover the 5K course, placing 121st with a time of 19:02.60. A fellow freshman in Leah Gonwa completed her first 5K in her collegiate career, clocking in at 19:26.99.

Abbey Schultz rounded out the scoring for Milwaukee at the Burke Golf & Cross Country Course, as the Muskego, Wis. native earned 181st place with a time of 19:44.81. Sommer, Gonwa and Schultz all earned personal bests in the process, improving their previous 5K times from a month ago at the Huskie Classic. 

"On the women's side, they continue to build strong layers of confidence with each race," head coach Andrew Basler said. "They competed with grit, and their improvement race after race is very visible to us. Mariah and Janiyah ran very strong up front for us." 

Milwaukee will return to action Friday, Oct. 16, when they travel south to compete in the Bradley Pink Classic. The women's 6K race is set to begin at 2:15 p.m. CT.