By Rachael Cataldo, Staff Writer
Sophomore Erin Reese was the first River Hawk to cross the finish line for the Susquehanna University Women’s Cross Country team leading the team to a ninth place finish at the Gettysburg Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 14.
Reese placed 10th overall out of almost 300 runners with a time of 23:07.6 on the 6K course. Next to cross the finish line was senior Kailyn Reilly, finishing with a time of 23:53.2 to place 22nd.
Senior Hannah Stauffer was the third to finish in 38th place with a time of 24:25.2. Sophomore Emily Eck (111th) and freshman Marissa Kleman (113th) rounded out the scoring for the team.
The College of New Jersey took home the team championship title scoring 36 points with five runners in the top- 20. Susquehanna scored 269 points. The River Hawks finished ahead of 22 other teams in the 31-team race.
Meanwhile on the men’s side, Senior Kyle Skelton was the top finisher for the River Hawks with a time of 27:42.6 to lead the team to a 15th place finish out of 25 teams.
Skelton finished in 44th place while senior Eric Pressler was next to finish in 76th place with a time of 28:32.9. Junior Ciaran Fisher finished in 81st place with a time of 28:41.0. Freshman Jake Menchey (116th) and Sophomore Brandon Sorge (117th) rounded out the scoring for the River Hawks.
The College of New Jersey was also the top collegiate team on the men’s side with a final score of 54 points. Susquehanna scored 434 points.
The Women’s and Men’s Cross Country teams return to action tomorrow at the Ashley Tomlinson Alumni Meet at home on Homecoming Weekend in final preparation for the Landmark Championship race Oct. 28 at Juniata College.
“The run is named after a cross country alumni who was tragically killed in a car crash shortly after her graduation,” head coach Martin Owens said.
An Ashley Tomlinson Award was started for a runner from the women’s team who exemplified the qualities Ashley demonstrated during her time on the team.
“Ashley was never among the top runners on the team but she was one of the most supportive members of the team. Her family has remained supportive of the program. After the completion of the Sassafras Field project, I contacted the family about naming the alumni run in her honor. It is a fun event where the current team runs with/against the alumni,” Owens said.
The event is not scored. The current cross country teams will not be racing. However, Owens said the team will be “completing a threshold workout in preparation for the Landmark Championships the following weekend.”
At last year’s Landmark Conference championship meet hosted by Moravian College, the Women’s Cross Country team finished in 3rd place, while the Men’s Cross Country team finished in 5th place.
“The focus for these next two weeks is just going to be to stay strong mentally and physically, and to be smart with training,” Reese said.
“Both teams have runners that can challenge for top 5 positions in the conference as well as runners who could earn Landmark Conference Honors on either the 1st (top 7) or 2nd (8-14) teams,” Owens said.
“Overall, you go into the meeting wanting to improve upon last year’s performances. I believe both teams are ready for that and it is just time to go out and let it happen,” Owens said
