Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Panorama Farms Invitational
Cross Country Teams Fare Well in Strong Field at Panorama Farms Invitational
9/26/2014 3:15:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Running against some of the best competition they will see all season, the Bucknell men's and women's cross country teams travelled to Earlysville, Virginia to compete in the Panorama Farms Invitational on Friday. The Bison women posted a seventh-place finish, while the men took 11th in a stacked field of teams.
A pair of nationally-ranked teams finished at the top of the standings in the women's race. No. 10 Virginia took six of the top 16 spots to win the event with 37 points, while No. 26 William & Mary was the runner-up with 74 points. Bucknell, which finished ahead of Clemson, Liberty and High Point, came in at 194 points.
Montana DiPietrantonio was the top runner for Bucknell, taking 32nd with a time of 22:31. Sarah Chandler (22:36) and Brennan Sharkey (22:42) also finished in the top 40 of the 85-runner field, crossing the line in 36th and 39th, respectively. Virginia's Sarah Fakler (20:38) edged Arizona's Kristina Aubert (20:40) for the individual title.
“Our women ran a solid race, but I would not call it a great race,” Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner said. “We got out pretty good over the first 2k, which is usually a weakness for us and an area that we are trying to improve on. Some of our women had a hard time closing the final 2k. This meet does show that we belong in races of this level.”
The Bucknell men had their work cut out for them in a race where all 12 participating teams were ranked in their respective regions, including a pair of nationally-ranked teams. No. 13 Virginia clinched the team title with 47 points, with Furman finishing second with 51 points. Not far behind those squads was No. 12 Iona with 54, while Bucknell closed things out with 282, finishing ahead of Clemson.
Pacing the Bison men was John Dugan, who was 38th with a time of 25:07. Andrew Garcia-Harrison (25:27) and Michael McGowan (25:42) were 53rd and 57th, respectively, out of 110 participants. The race was won by Auburn's Ty McCormack in 23:51.
“It was not the final result that we were looking for. We had some key people have a rough day due to the heat and great competition,” Donner said. “There were no bad teams out there today. We will need our guys to bounce back in order to be competitive.”
Bucknell travels to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Oct. 4, to compete in the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh.
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Players Mentioned
