Poughkeepsie, NY - The Sage Colleges women's cross country team finished fifth at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational Meet hosted by Vassar Saturday.
The Gators had a score of 143 and bested Union and Bard in the seven team event. The host Brewers won with a score of 30 points, followed by New Paltz at 44 and Stevens at 82. New Paltz had the top two finishers with Cassandra Williams winning at 19:06.9 and Emily Cavanaugh clocking at 19;10.3. Vassar had six of the top 10 finishers.
Head Coach Zachary Williams noted of the meet, "The women ran as a pack incredibly well, pushing each other whenever they ran into difficulty." He added, "Our runners took some good steps forward today. We now have three weeks until our next race; in that time, we will buckle down, enjoy our training, and build upon today's successes."
Freshman Kerry Flower (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) led the Gators with a 21st place time of 20:55.3. Other top 40 finishers for Sage were senior Victoria Opalka (Fort Johnson, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) at 28th at 21:45.3 quickly followed by Sagan Leggett (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) at 21:47.6 to take 29th.
Rookie Kristin McAlonen (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) posted a time of 22:06.0 in 32nd place, while junior Amanda Jones (West Sand Lake, NY/Columbia) was right behind her in 33rd place in 22:06.3. Sophomore Sevi Travis (Cohoes, NY/Shaker) added a 37th place finish in 22:37.8 and sophomore Sophia Keravich (Barrington, NH/Oyster River) took home 44th in 24:11.1. Rookie Giannah French (Cherry Plain, NY/Berlin) aded a 66th place finish on the day in 32:36.4.
Sage is back in action on September 29 when the Gators compete at the Saratoga Invitational hosted by RPI at 11 a.m.
