RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Hawai'i cross country team turned in its best Big West finish in eight years with a fifth-place finish at the Big West Championships Saturday morning.
 
The Rainbow Wahine ended with 149 points to edge Long Beach State by a single point to match the best finish by the program at the conference championships since re-joining the Big West in 2012 (2016, 5th place).
 
Freshman Lucy Milliner claimed all-conference recognition with a ninth-place finish, crossing the line in 20:24.2 to turn in the highest finish by a UH runner since 2016 (Camille Campos). Emilie Kirk Langschwager narrowly missed out on joining Milliner in earning all-conference recognition, placing 11th with a time of 20:30.9.
 
After sitting in sixth place for the majority of the meet, the Rainbow Wahine got strong finishing pushes from the rest of their lineup to move past The Beach into fifth place. Sariah Hernandez came in 33rd with a time of 21:06.4 while Zola O'Donnell came in 46th with a personal-best of 21:27.1. Gemma Warman rounded out the UH scorers, coming in 64th with a PR of 22:00.6, just one second and one place ahead of a top-seven Long Beach State runner to push the 'Bows into the top five.
 
"The 'Bows ran really well this morning and matched our best-ever team finish at the Big West Championships," said head coach Tim Boyce. "We had great individual efforts over the last 2k to move up to fifth. Lucy and Emilie led the way with top-11 finishes, while Zola and Gemma ran 6k personal bests to solidify our top five. Very proud of everyone."
 
The Rainbow Wahine continue postseason competition when they head to the NCAA West Regional, Nov. 15 in Colfax, Wash.
 
Rainbow Wahine Results
 
5. Hawai'i – 149 pts.
9. Lucy Milliner – 20:24.2
11. Emilie Kirk Langschwager – 20:30.9
33. Sariah Hernandez – 21:06.4
46. Zola O'Donnell – 21:27.1
64. Gemma Warman – 22:00.6
79. Kira Moe – 22:37.2
87. Lucy Becker – 23:04.0
91. Nicole Sevcikova – 23:12.6
92. Alizee Garcia Parsons – 23:27.4
93. Bella De Freitas – 23:29.0