LOCKPORT -- Sophomore Courtney Madden (Plainfield Central H.S./Plainfield, IL) came "madden-ingly" close to qualifying for her first NAIA Championship field Saturday but finished behind just one runner too many at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at Dellwood Park.

LOCKPORT, Ill. --- University of St. Francis will serve as host to the 2009 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships when 10 men's teams, eight women's teams and nearly 200 total runners converge on Dellwood Park Saturday morning.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. --- Sophomore Courtney Madden (Plainfield Central H.S./Plainfield, IL) and freshmen Torin Mallonee (Xavier H.S./Cedar Rapids, IA) and Renee Cholyway (Regina H.S./Warren, MI) all turned in personal bests for the season on Saturday to lead University of St. Francis to a 16th-place finish at the 21-team NAIA Great Lakes Challenge Cross Country Invitational on Saturday.

LISLE, Ill. --- Running its first 6K race of the season, University of St. Francis gained its best overall finish of the fall placing fifth out of 11 teams at the Benedictine University Eagle Invitational on Friday afternoon at Community Park.

CHICAGO --- University of St. Francis' third meet of the year netted the Fighting Saints a 24th-place finish out of 34 teams competing at the Sean Earl/Loyola University Lakefront Invitational on Saturday.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. --- Three University of St. Francis runners placed among the top 100 performers overall  at the National Catholic Women's Cross Country Invitational on Friday leading the Fighting Saints to a 20th place finish at the 31-team meet held on the campus of University of Notre Dame.

After finishing in third place at the 2008 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championships, University of St. Francis finds itself slated to finish in the same spot in 2009 according to a vote of league coaches announced on Tuesday.