Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Princeton Invitational
Women's Cross Country Wins Fourth Invitational of the Season
10/18/2014 3:33:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Princeton Results | Gettysburg Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Kylie Pearse took first place to lead the Bucknell women's cross country team to its fourth invitational win of the season Saturday at Gettysburg College. The Bison also sent 10 runners to the highly-competitive Princeton Invitational, where they took an impressive fifth place out of 35 teams.
Pearse won the 6k race with a time of 22:43, which was 11 seconds better than second-place runner Jenny Brewer from Alderson Broaddus. The Bison took three of the top four spots, as Becky Snelson (22:58) was third and Meghan Carroll (23:10) was fourth.
All five of Bucknell's scored runners finished in the top 15 of a field of 394. Emma Cousins (23:32) was 13th, while Elizabeth Sheprow (22:32) finished just one spot behind her in 14th. The teammates crossed the line less than one second apart.
"Both our men and women ran well at Gettysburg to get the win," said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner," It's great to see our depth get a chance to shine. Some of those runners will earn travel spots to leagues."
At Princeton, the Bison's fifth-place finish was fueled by Katie Jessee, who took 30th out of 278 runners with a time of 22:21. The race was won by Virginia Tech's Sarah Rapp in 21:11.
Bucknell finished with 210 points, way ahead of sixth-place Princeton (272). No. 21 Villanova won the team championship with a score of 58, edging Virginia Tech, a team that received votes in the most recent national poll, by five. Penn (122) and Stony Brook (156) rounded out the teams in front of the Bison.
Freshman Christine Bendzinski turned in another outstanding performance for Bucknell, taking 32nd with a time of 22:34. Sarah Chandler was only two spots behind her in 34th, while Catherine Scott and Montana Dipietrantonio were 53rd and 61st, respectively.
"Our women got out a little too slow and then got pinched in by the large field. We had a nice pack through two and a half miles but it started to fade some over the last mile," Donner said. "We had a fairly big shakeup of our varsity seven which is a bit concerning, but our depth is strong. We have some work to get done, but I am confident that we will be ready for leagues and regionals."
The Bison will have next weekend off as they prepare for the Patriot League Championships, which will be hosted by Lehigh University on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Players Mentioned
