Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Penn State National Invitational
Bucknell Women's Cross Country Takes 11th at Penn State National Invite
10/14/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 14, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Bucknell women's cross country struggled in rainy, muddy conditions at the Penn State National Invitational but still finished in the top half of the field, placing 11th as a team at the Blue/White Golf Courses on Friday morning. Taking top billing for the second time this season was Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Ontario/St. Mary's), who was 51st overall on the six-kilometer course.
Hooper, who has been among Bucknell's scoring five in every meet this season but has not led the pack since the Bucknell Open in early September, returned to the front with a time of 22:54. Following close behind and also earning top-100 finishes were Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) in 67th (23:09) and Kelly Grosskurth (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) in 78th (23:17).
Rounding out the top five were Melissa Smith (Mercer, Pa./Mercer Area) and Madeline Dulac (Baltimore, Md./McDonough School) in 107th and 109th place, respectively.
Bucknell was 11th as a team with 373 points. West Virginia, currently ranked 19th nationally, took the title with 45 points. The Mountaineers' Kate Harrison and Kaitlyn Gillespie took the top two individual places as well.
The Bison did win the battle of the Patriot League teams, besting Lehigh, which was 13th, and Colgate in 14th. With the league championships on the horizon, head coach Kevin Donner would still have liked to see a stronger performance out of his team.
“Many of us were a little better than at the Paul Short Invite,” said Donner. “Some of our ladies are having a hard time adjusting to the muddy courses, which needs to be fixed because everyone needs to race in those conditions. If we can get better consistency from our projected scorers, we can become a very good team.”
Those Bucknell runners who did not compete at Penn State will have the opportunity to race at tomorrow's Gettysburg Invitational. The team's attention will then turn to the Patriot League Championships, slated for Oct. 29 at Lehigh.
TOP BISON FINISHERS (6K)
51. Alysha Hooper – 22:54
67. Stephanie Fulmer – 23:09
78. Kelly Grosskurth – 23:17
107. Melissa Smith – 23:44
109. Madeline Dulac – 23:45
113. Emily Liggett – 23:46
123. Caroline Tolli – 23:52
