Seahawk Women Place Third at Green Terror XC Challenge
Westminster, Md. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's cross country team performed well in their first meet of their inaugural season Saturday morning as the Seahawks had a pair of runners finish in the top 15 at Green Terror Split Distance XC Challenge hosted by McDaniel College.
The Challenge featured two races - a 5K and an optional 3K. Unlike the men, the St. Mary's women only ran the 5K race, finishing third ahead of Capital Athletic Conference opponents, Hood College (4th) and Stevenson University (6th), with 60 points. The Seahawks average time in the 5K was 23:45.75.
Freshman Katie Phipps (Severna Park, Md./Chesapeake) was the team's top finisher as Phipps posted a time of 23:04 to place 12th out of 45 runners. St. Mary's next highest finisher was freshman Kristin Hay (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) as Hay came in 14th with a time of 23:22.
Sophomore Kathleen Tatem (Kensington, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) came in 20th with a time of 23:50, while freshman Margaret Lillie (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) was 29th in 24:47.
Rounding out the race for the Seahawks were junior Christi Ford (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) and sophomore Laura Hewins (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales Academy). Ford placed 39th with a time of 26:07, while Hewins was 42nd in 27:42.
The Seahawks will return to action next Saturday, September 19 at the York (Pa.) College Spartan Invitational. The 5K race will be held at John Rudy Park and will begin at 10:30 a.m.
The addition of men's and women's cross country this past spring brought St. Mary's athletic offerings to 17 sports.
Affiliated with NCAA Division III, St. Mary's became the ninth and final member institution of the Capital Athletic Conference to sponsor both men's and women's cross country. The Seahawks joined Gallaudet University, Hood College, the University of Mary Washington, Marymount (Va.) University, Salisbury University, Stevenson University, Wesley College, and York (Pa.) College.
Combined Women's Team Standings: 1. McDaniel (33), 2. York (Pa.) (54)
5K Women's Team Standings: 1. McDaniel (23), 2. York (Pa.) (24), 3. St. Mary's (Md.) (60), 4. Hood (65), 5. Hagerstown C.C. (88), 6. Stevenson (96), 7. Lancaster Bible (122)
3K Women's Team Standings: 1. McDaniel (10), 2. York (Pa.) (30)
