UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's and women's cross country teams continue their fall slate on Saturday when they make the quick trip down I-64 for the William & Mary Invitational in Williamsburg, Va.
SATURDAY'S MEET
DETAILS
In addition to multiple high school races held as part of
Saturday's invite, the collegiate events open with the men's 8k race at 9:45
a.m. The women's 5k race will follow at 10:45 a.m. Both races will be held on
the grass-covered, hilly grounds of the Eastern State Hospital.
LAST TIME OUT
Richmond cross country opened its season at home on Sept. 1 with
the 11th annual running of the Spider Alumni Open at Pole Green Park in
Mechanicsville. The Spider men finished atop Saturday's six-team field, with
the women taking second behind regional power William & Mary.
On the men's side, Richmond turned in a strong showing with 27 points in the morning's 5k race, well ahead of runner-up UMBC's 50-point performance. William & Mary took third with 61 points, followed by George Mason (100), Virginia State (151) and Old Dominion (177).
The Tribe women finished first with 23 points in Saturday's 2-Mile race, while the Spiders trailed closely with 32 points. UMBC rounded out the top three with 83 points, followed by George Mason (109) and Virginia State (150).
Junior Ryan Lee (Wilmington, Del./Archmere Academy) crossed the line in 15:03.2 and just behind the Tribe's Radford Gunzenhauser (15:01.4) to pace the Spiders with a runner-up finish. Senior Chris York (White Post, Va./Clarke County) clocked a time of 15:14.3 to take the third spot, with Andrew Valenski (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) rounding out the top-five with a time of 15:17.8.
After taking the title at the Atlantic 10 Championship a season ago, Jill Prentice (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) opened her junior campaign with a second-place showing of 10:37.7. The Tribe's Jess Cygan took the top spot with a time of 10:34.8. Allie Stapleton (Commack, N.Y./Commack) appeared strong in her sophomore debut, crossing the line seventh in 11:01.8, with senior Stephanie Paradis (Leesburg, Va./Stone Bridge) just behind in eighth (11:02.7).
RICHMOND IN REGIONAL
RANKINGS
Both Spider squads were given nods in the first United
States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional
rankings of the fall released on Monday. Richmond is seeded ninth in the women's
Southeast Region rankings, while the Spider men are ranked 13th after the
opening two weeks of 2012 action.
CONNECT WITH THE
SPIDERS
Stay updated on all the latest Richmond
Cross Country news on RichmondSpiders.com and by accessing Spider Athletics' mobile
apps on your Smartphone or tablet. More
in-depth coverage can be found by following Head Coach Steve Taylor on Twitter
and by reading his blog.
The Spiders also have their own Facebook page
and have launched their own YouTube Channel
as well.
