STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- On a beautiful fall day in Happy Valley (a stark contrast from 2009, when 6 inches of snow forced the meet to move 45 miles north to Lock Haven), the Cornell women's cross country team competed against several nationally ranked programs at the Penn State National Invitational on Saturday.
The Big Red raced to a seventh place finish of 31 teams, behind #1 ranked Villanova (26 points), #7 Syracuse (57), #30 Penn State (137), Miami of Ohio (155), Division II national #1 Grand Valley State (166), and West Virginia (205). Scoring 214 points, the Big Red finished ahead of Heps rivals Yale and Penn.
After a 5:25 opening mile with six Cornellians in the lead pack, freshman
Devin McMahon continued to roll, ultimately placing 18th in 21:16, the second best time run by a Cornellian on Penn State's 6K course, behind only Kate Boyles '05. Sophomore
Cara Costich rallied very well in the last kilometer, placing 41st in 21:50, the fifth best time by a Cornellian here. Sophomore
Genna Hartung ran a solid race, placing 51st in 21:59 while senior captain
Maura Carroll looked strong in finishing 52nd in 22:01. Senior
Kristin Sellers rounded out the scoring five for the Big Red, crossing the line in 22:10 and 59th. Sophomore
Kelsey Karys, at the front early, finished in 65th in 22:14 and junior
Janel Parker continued her fine season with a run of 22:27 for 86th. Also competing for Cornell was
Kate Rosettie (94th, 22:33), junior
Shelby Herman (100th, 22:39), freshman
Dale Kinney (107th, 22:43), junior
Meghan Brown (132nd, 22:59), freshman
Rachel Sorna (152nd, 23:09), sophomore
Neesha Schnepf (164th, 23:17), junior
Christine Smith (175th, 23:25) and freshman Emmy Shearer (84th, 23:23, despite spraining her ankle during the race).
Complete Women's Race Results can be found here:
Next up for the Big Red is the John Reif Memorial Run on Friday, October 22nd at Cornell's Moakley Course. The co-ed 5k race is at 4:30 and the men's 5 mile race is at 5 PM. The top 12 men and 12 women will race at the Heps in New York City's Van Cortlandt Park on Friday, October 29th.