Prior to Sunday’s 6,000-meter race in Madison, senior Danielle Tauro had set the pace for the Wolverines in all five of her appearances this season.

The Big Ten Championships proved to be no different, as Tauro was the first Michigan women’s cross country team member to cross the finish line, clinching fourth place with a personal-best time of 20:20.1.

“This was her highest performance ever in a Big Ten championship,” Michigan coach Mike McGuire said after the race. “Our goal going in was that we felt she could be in the top five, so she achieved that goal. She’s led the team across the line, but she’s also led the team in a lot of other things. I think her best running is still ahead of her.”

No. 21 Michigan had five runners finish in the top-30, capturing second place in the conference. The Wolverines earned a season-best 88 points – just 14 shy of Big Ten champion Michigan State.

“We’re back knocking on the door,” McGuire said. “Obviously there’s a degree of disappointment in not winning the championship, but there’s not any disappointment in the effort we put forth.”

Tauro was not the only one responsible for the Wolverines’ runner-up finish, as Michigan’s next four runners finished within 43 seconds of her time.

Sophomore Jillian Smith clinched 12th place with a time of 20:44.0, just three seconds shy of her personal-best time in the 6,000-meter event.

“I also felt we got a really good race from Jill and (sophomore) Becca (Addison),” McGuire said. “Jill was 38th last year as a freshman and 12th this year as a sophomore, and Becca moved up a few spots as well. I actually think the depth of the field is better this year, looking at the quality of the athletes in the field. We’re going in the right direction.”

Smith joined Tauro in earning All-Big Ten Second Team honors.

Addison was the third Wolverine to cross the finish line, securing 18th place with a time of 20:52.5. Redshirt junior Kaitlyn Peale, a former All-Big Ten performer from last season, captured 26th place with a time of 21:00.1. This was Peale’s first race since Oct. 2, as she missed the past two meets due to injury.

“That’s about what I thought we were going to get from Kaitlyn,” McGuire said of her return. “She’s been running, but she’s been doing a different type of running on an anti-gravity treadmill, and it’s just not the same. She competed hard and we wouldn’t have gotten second without her. If we can merge her back into the group a little bit more over the last two championship races, I think we’ll continue to get better.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Patterson rounded out Michigan's scoring for the race, coming in 28th place with a time of 21:03.3.

Michigan will take a two-week hiatus before carrying on with postseason competition on Nov. 13 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Rochester, Michigan.