Women's Cross Country Finishes Fifth at Hood
FREDERICK, Md. - Stevenson University women's cross country freshman Danielle Riley (Hartly, Del./Lake Forest) posted her fastest 5K time of the season to lead the Mustangs to a fifth place finish at the Hood Invitational Saturday at Hood College.
The Mustangs finished fifth with a total of 87 points. Penn State-Altoona captured first place with 54 points, five ahead of the District of Columbia. Southern Virginia took third, followed by Hood and Stevenson.
Riley finished sixth in a time of 21:04.46 which was 28 seconds faster than her previous best of 21:32.86 set at the York Spartan Invitational on September 20 where she finished ninth. She was one of five Mustangs that posted their fastest 5K times of the season.
Riley has been the first Mustang to cross the finish line in five of the team's six races this season. She did not compete at the Don Cathart Invitational on September 27.
Junior Nicole Nash (Leonardtown/Leonardtown) also had her best race of the season, posting a season-best time of 21:55.32 to finish 13th. Her mark was almost two minutes ahead of her previous best time of 23:31.47 set at the York Spartan Invitational.
Junior Claire Beck (Baltimore/Maryvale Prep) just missed a top-20 finish, placing 21st with a mark of 23:32.85, her fastest 5K time this season. Competing in her hometown, freshman Jennifer Cecchetti (Frederick/Frederick) improved upon her previous season-best time by nearly one minute en route to finishing 27th in 24:49.03.
Sophomore Lauren Redding (Bel Air/C. Milton Wright) finished fifth, followed by junior Brooke Witherow (Berlin/Stephen Decatur) and freshman Jennifer Van Natta (Towson/Mount De Sales).
Stevenson will head to Mary Washington next Saturday for the 2008 CAC Cross Country Championships.
