News/Press Releases

KALAMAZOO, Mich.— Two Western Michigan University women pilots competing in the Air Race Classic cross-country flying event for women aviators learned June 27 they captured fifth place in the race's collegiate division and 11th place overall.

Sara Karsten and Katherine Vena, representing WMU's College of Aviation, finished the 2,200-mile course from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Fairhope, Alabama, using two and a half of the four days allotted for the race. They were honored at the event's June 27 concluding banquet for completing the eighth leg of the race--from Union City, Tennessee, to Gadsden, Alabama—with the fastest time of any of the 54 competitor teams.

The overall winner of the June 22-25 race as well as the winner of the collegiate division was a team from Southern Illinois University. A total of 17 collegiate teams were among this year's competitors.