PRESCOTT, Wis. – MLC kicked its season off with a fourth-place finish at the River Town Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

The Knights were led by their experienced returners Jemimah Habben and Grace Hahm. Habben finished in 10th with a time of 25:25.6 while Hahm was 14th, running in 25:37.3.

The final three counting scores for MLC came from freshmen. Claire Fischer debuted with a time of 26:22.6, which was good enough for a 22nd-place finish. Joanna Wietzke placed 54th in 31:10.3 and Grace Peters finished in 32:48.1, which was 61st place.

The Knights edged out fellow UMAC competitor Northwestern by three places. 

Conditions were challenging as head index values were in the mid-90s. 

"I'm really proud of the ladies persevering through the heat on the exposed course," coach Breanna Olson said. "They had to battle some rolling hills and handled the meet really well. I'm excited to see what the season holds."