Women's Cross Country | 10/7/2017 3:52:00 PM
HOUGHTON, NY – The RIT women's cross country team won its second consecutive meet, defeating 15 other teams at the Highlander Cross Country Invitational, hosted by Houghton College in warm, humid conditions on Saturday.
RIT, ranked sixth in the United States Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic Region poll, finished with a team score of 57 points, knocking off second place New York University, who had 91 points. Ramapo College (96) and Stevens Institute of Technology (99) were third and fourth, respectively.
Sabrina Hermann of NYU was the race winner, completing the 6,000-meter course in a time of 22:13.6.
RIT's top four finishers in the race were all part of the junior class.
Becca Schwan (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy) was RIT's top finisher, placing fourth overall out of 147 runners in a time of 23:04.2, with a mile pace of 6:12.
Alexis Scott (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) placed seventh overall in a personal-best time of 23:36, while
Brooke Busa (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) crossed the finish line tenth in 23:52.3, also a career-best.
Alaina Celeste (Oswego, NY/Oswego) recorded a time of 24:15.9 to place 15th overall, while senior
Kylie Trettner (Shoreham, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) rounded out RIT's top-five by finishing 21st overall in 24:29.
A testament to RIT's strong depth, senior
Jennifer Crossen (Bason, NY/Oakfield-Alabama) finished 22nd overall, just four tenths of a second behind Trettner, while junior
Emma Snyder (Nunda, NY/Nunda) was 24th in a time of 24:38, a personal best. Sophomore
Alex Carpenter (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) placed 39th overall (25:07.6).
"I'm really happy that our ladies were mentally tough enough to battle the heat and come through with a well-deserved team win today," said RIT women's cross country head coach
Dave Stevens. "It really was a team effort and I'm proud of how we picked each other up."
RIT will also compete at Houghton on Nov. 11 at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship. The Tigers placed second at the season-opening Highlander Twilight Invitational on Sept. 1.
This marks RIT's first two race winning streak in program history. The Tigers also won the Bill Fritz Invitational at Rowan University on Sept. 16.
The Tigers are right back in action next Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Yellowjacket Invitational, hosted by the University of Rochester. The race from nearby Genesee Valley Park begins at 11 a.m. and is a Tiger Den Event.
