By Kelsey Rogers, Editor-in-chief
Senior Erin Reese led the Susquehanna women’s cross-country team to a sixth place finish out of 18 teams at Lebanon Valley’s Dutchmen Invitational on Sept. 7.
Reese completed the 5k run with a time of 19:05 to lead her to a seventh place individual finish out of 158 runners. She said that right now for training, the team is focused on building a base with lots of mileage and strength training.
“The course was a pretty good course and so was the competition there. The aspect of the race that was difficult was running on tired legs,” Reese said.
Finishing behind Reese in 21st place was freshman Kallan Carter with a time of 19:57, shaving 59 seconds off of her time from the Dickinson Invitational a week prior.
“I think what differed from my race this past weekend compared to last week was preparation,” Carter said. “Increasing my mileage a tiny bit but also getting mentally prepared leading up to the race helped a lot.”
Carter said that her last 5k race was in November of 2018 and she wasn’t sure where to expect to fall.
“Once I ran my first race, I felt more confident in my abilities,” Carter said. “It felt exhilarating to finish as one of the top runners on my team, and I feel grateful to have a pack as well to be able to train with and push one another towards our own goals.”
Senior Alexa Pietrini and junior Marissa Kleman followed close behind with times of 20:43 and 20:45, respectively. Pietrini finished 42nd while Kleman finished 44th. Senior Emily Eck rounded out the top five finishers for the River Hawks in 52nd with a time of 21:18.
Reese said her expectation for the women’s team is to finish in the top two in the conference and place high up in the region.
Messiah took first in the team standings, followed by Eastern and Lebanon Valley in second and third. Scranton and Widener took fourth and fifth place, respectively.
On the men’s side, Susquehanna had a fifth place finish out of 18 teams. Sophomore Jack Warehime led the way with a 14th place finish of 161 runners with a time of 27:20 in the 8k run. Freshman Shane Urban finished next for the River Hawks with a time of 27:55 in 30th place.
“To be honest, I was nervous having to run 3 more kilometers than I’ve ever raced before,” Urban said. “But I kept my cool and listened to my coaches who were stationed around the course.”
Junior Jake Menchey followed suit in 52nd place with a time of 28:52 along with sophomore John Sabella, who had a time of 29:06 for a 58th place finish.
Senior Brandon Sorge rounded out the scoring for Susquehanna in 75th place with a time of 30:00.
Messiah took first place in the men’s overall team ranking as well with a score of 43 points.
Scranton, Eastern and Lebanon Valley followed suit in second, third and fourth.
Susquehanna’s women’s team was ranked fourth in the Landmark Conference preseason poll, tying with Catholic and Juniata. Elizabethtown is ranked first with Moravian and Scranton following closely behind.
The men’s team was ranked fifth in the preseason poll, following behind Elizabethtown, Juniata, Moravian and Scranton.
The River Hawks have also added two new members to their coaching staff. Head coach Ethan Senecal announced the addition of Jeremiah Clinchoc and
Ryan McGuire to guide the mid-distance and distance runners. McGuire is a Susquehanna alumnus returning to the program.
Both the men and women will be back in action at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 21 at the Lock Haven invitational, which is set to take place in Lock Haven, Pa.
