GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Flagler College women's cross country team finished in fifth place to open up the season on the 3-mile course at the University of Florida for the Mountain Dew Invitational on Friday. 

Junior Megan Churchill led the way for the Saints with a top 15 finish, finishing at 14 with a 17:44.6 time. Finishing right outside the top 25 were junior Enola Savel (18:01.3), sophomore Chloe Smith (18:02.8) and junior Monique Whiteman (18:06.0), placing in 27^th, 28^th and 30^th respectively. Three more Saints rounded out the top 50 with sophomore Amber Schulz (18:08.1) finishing 34^th, senior Monika Kubai (18:10.7) finishing 37^th and sophomore Abby Misch (18:26.5) finishing 46^th. 
 
"Today we saw what good comes from having quality depth. Our top finishers weren't in the order you would have predicted based on workouts, but it just shows us how important it is to have everyone working for the same goal," said head coach and director of cross country Brian Beil. "We've got some tremendous ladies in this group.  Moving forward I hope today proves to free them up to feel less pressure, and be able to just let it rip, because if it falls apart we've got some great teammates there to pick us up."
 
Other finishers for Flagler were Taylor Stone, Lea Steinbach, Clemence Treguer, Maddi Hood, Zoie Marchant, Kiki Wine, Jessica Gates, and Francesca Pece.
 
"It certainly wasn't the peak of what we can accomplish, but it was a good start and something we can build on moving forward," said Beil. "As always, Megan Churchill put in a strong day at the office. She works hard when no one is watching, so when everyone is, I know she'll be there at the front leading our team."

The Saints return to the course tomorrow when they travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. for the Embry-Riddle XC Classic. 

Complete results and times from today's race can be found here.

Team scores in order: Florida (38), Vanderbilt (42), Georgia Tech (62), Chattanooga (130), Flagler (132), North Florida (151), South Florida (222), Florida Atlantic (236), Stetson (270), Florida Gulf Coast (288), Florida A&M (359), Florida Southern (362), FIU (363) and Bethune-Cookman (444).  
 
 
CONNECT WITH THE SAINTS: Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube
DOWNLOAD TEAM SCHEDULES: Download Center
FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE SAINTS TEAM: Sign up for Newsletter