COLFAX, Wis. – After a week off, the Yellowjacket women's cross country team was back in action Friday, competing against a loaded field at the Blugold Invitational, hosted by UW-Eau Claire at the Whitetail Golf Course.
 
Whitetail is a course the Yellowjackets have run many times over the years, and this event attracted some of the top teams from around the region.
 
The women's six-kilometer race was won by Carleton College of Northfield, Minn., who accumulated 40 points. Carleton's Northfield neighbor St. Olaf College finished second with 87 points. Host UW-Eau Claire rounded out the top three, finishing with 106 points.
 
UW-Superior placed 20th Friday in the 25-team field.
 
Leading the way for the Yellowjackets Friday was junior Halle Barker (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior). The Superior native is off to a strong start in 2023, already breaking into the top 10 all-time with her performance two weeks ago. Barker had another solid outing Friday, crossing the line with a time of 24:12.60, placing her 73rd in the field of 248 runners.
 
The finish was just six seconds shy of her personal record and gives her a second entry into the all-time top ten. Friday's time was the eighth-fastest six-kilometer finish in program history.
 
As has been the case most of the season, Cora Hudella (North Branch, Minn./North Branch Area) was right on Barker's heels, finishing with a time of 24:27.70, making her the second Yellowjacket runner to finish the race. Hudella's time placed her 86th on the day.
 
Tea Boerner (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna Senior) was the next Yellowjacket to cross the finish line, coming in with a time of 25:51.00, which established a personal record for the junior. Freshman Lilley Smith (Ironwood, Mich./Ironwood High School) finished the race with a time of 27:18.40, while teammates Meagan Berg (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) and Aubrey Peterson (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) were not far behind. Berg finished the day with a time of 27:59.30, while Peterson was just a stride behind, finishing in 27:59.90.
 
Closing things out for the Yellowjackets Friday was Kenzy Kreuzer (Stoddard, Wis./De Soto), who came in with a time of 28:40.20, Cieyana Carter (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) with a time of 31:29.30, Brooke Petrich (Keewatin, Minn./Greenway) with a time of 31:55.90, Grace Hansen () with a time of 35:06.10, Emma Winberg (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) with a time of 35:25.70, Jordan Rader (Eagle River, Alaska/Eagle River) with a time of 37:35.10 and Hannah Desmond (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet High School) with a time of 37:43.60.
 
Fiona Smith from the College of St. Benedict was the race winner Friday.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is the Augustana Interregional Invitational at the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill. The race is set for start at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14.