An impressive third place finish at the Knight Invitational at Calvin College has boosted the Case Western Reserve University women’s cross country team 12 spots up the national rankings to No. 15. The Case men finished fifth at the meet and sit just outside of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 35. The men currently have one vote, good for a tie for 43rd with SUNY Fredonia.

The women owe their rapid ascension of the rankings in large part to the addition of freshman Kelsey Aamoth, who won last week at the Bill Sudeck Classic in her first collegiate race. Aamoth led the Spartans, finishing 10th overall in a personal record of 18 minutes and 17.1 seconds.

The rest of the Spartan women who scored finished in a tight pack within 12 seconds of each other. Sophomore Erica Bauerbach finished 27th in 18:50.9. Senior co-captain Corin Bowen finished close behind in 31st, three seconds behind at 18:53.1. Rounding out the women’s scoring were freshmen Dana Jeter and Lydia Greene who finished back-to-back at 39th and 40th with times of 19:00.2 and 19:01.2, respectively.

The women’s team finished third behind host No. 8 Calvin College, which moved up two spots in the rankings from No. 10. Calvin finished with 34 points in first place. In second was Division II Grand Valley State University, who tallied 64 points. Behind Case, in fourth and fifth, were Aquinas College and No. 20 Ohio Northern University with 131 and 145 points, respectively.

The Spartan men were led by senior co-captain Chris Kelly, who finished just outside the top 10 in 12th place. Kelly finished the eight-kilometer course in 25:28.6. Kelly’s classmate and co-captain Ethan Teare also finished in the top 20, crossing the line at 25:38.1 in 19th.

Rounding out the scoring for the Spartans were junior David Dixon in 34th in 26:01.2 and Phil Yeung in 42nd in 26:18.8. Freshman Timothy Travitz also scored for the Spartans, finishing in 54th at 26:30.

The men finished fifth behind host No. 6 Calvin, which won the meet with 30 points. Grand Valley finished second with 109. No. 15 Allegheny finished in third place with 125 while Aquinas finished in fourth with 137. The Spartans rounded out the top five with 160 points.

The cross country teams will travel to Erie, Pa. to compete in the Pennsylvania State University at Behrend Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 11 a.m.