The No. 6 Minnesota women’s cross country team placed third at the Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Championships, Sunday in Bloomington, Ind. The championships featured four teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation, with the Big Ten results following suit as No. 3 Michigan won the meet with 52 points. No. 5 Wisconsin scored 91 points to edge Minnesota by a single point (92). No. 9 Illinois placed fifth (107).

Senior Emily Brown and junior Ladia Albertson-Junkans repeated as first-team All-Big Ten performers. Brown paced the Gophers by finishing sixth covering the 6-kilometer IU Cross Country Course in a time of 20 minutes, 52 seconds. Albertson-Junkans crossed the finish line a second later, clocked at 20:53. The top seven finishers are accorded All-Big Ten First Team honors. Michigan junior Erin Webster won the individual title in a time of 20:23.

“We ran well but it was a very tough field,” said Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. “You have to take your hat off to Michigan. They ran an outstanding meet today.”

Redshirt freshman Jamie Cheever struggled to finish the race on an uncharacteristically warm October day but turned in the Gophers’ number-three finish, placing 24th in a time of 21:41.

“The weather affected a lot of teams,” said Wilson. “It’s a tough course anyway, but when the added element of the warm weather came into play, a number of athletes struggled.”

Sophomore Gabriele Anderson notched her best team finish claiming the Gophers’ number-four spot with a 27th-place showing in 21:55. Freshman Elizabeth Yetzer closed the scoring for Minnesota with a 28th-place finish in 21:56.

Also competing for the Gophers were freshman Amy Laskowske, who placed 33rd in 22:04, and redshirt freshman Heather Dorniden, who finished 34th in 22:08.

Minnesota’s meet is the NCAA Midwest Region Championships, which the Golden Gophers will host at the Les Bolstad Golf Course on Nov. 11.