University of Richmond Athletics
Cross Country Competes in LaSalle Invitational
10/05/2003 | Cross Country
Philadelphia, PA- The University of Richmond men's and women's cross country teams continue to have an excellent season. The women's team showed why they are ranked at the top of the conference today as they easily won the LaSalle Invitational over #2 LaSalle and #3 Duquesne. The #1 Spiders left no doubt about their strength as they scored 17 points by placing five athletes in the top six over-all and maintaining a 1-5 split of only 28 seconds.
Senior Lyndsey Webber (Sayville, N.Y.) led the Spiders by winning the over-all race with a time of 18:16.35 in the hilly 5K Belmont Plateau course. She was followed closely by freshman Amanda Russell (North Bay, Ontario, Canada),18:30.33, and sophomore Nicole Kurtain (Hamiltion, N.J.), 18:33.59, in second and third respectively. Freshmen Danielle Binns (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada), 18:42.03 and Caitlin Smyth (Upper Saddle River, N.J.), 18:46.28, rounded out the scoring for the Spiders in fifth and sixth place over-all.
Head Coach Lori Taylor said, "We came to Philadelphia to preview the course prior to the conference championships in four weeks and to see a few of the teams from within the conference. Our women ran well. They went out as a team and remained tightly bunched through two miles. That's what we have been looking for. I'm pleased with our split of 28 seconds. When we keep our 1-5 split under 30 seconds our team will be tough to beat. They executed our race plan nicely."
For the men, freshman John Ciccarelli (Southbury, Conn.) continues to prove he is one of the top freshmen in the East with his second place overall performance of 25:34.02. The Spiders' rookie led for nearly four miles of the five mile race before last week's All-Conference performer Ryan Bender (Duquesne) was able to catch-up and hold on for the win.
The Richmond men, running without three of their top five runners, finished fifth in the team standings as Charlie Ban (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.), Patrick Barkhuff (Groton, Mass.), Reynolds Chapman (Volutown, Conn.) finished 23rd, 25th, 26th, and 27th, respectively, for the Spiders.
Head Coach Steve Taylor said "John ran well today. He took control of the race and is learning how to run out front. Even though he wasn't able to hold the lead through the end he gained valuable experience on what it takes. One day he will take that lead and they will not see him again."
"Our team got a chance to see the conference championship course, which is what we wanted. It was great to see Mulcahy back out there after the injury he suffered this summer. As a team we have to pull together our 1-5 split in order to be successful. At full strength we need to be under one minute."
The Spiders return to action next weekend at the Walt Disney World Classic in Orlando, Florida on Saturday October 11th.
Women's Standings
1. Lyndsey Webber 18:18.35
2. Amanda Russell 18:30.33
3. Nicole Kurtain 18:33.59
5. Danielle Binns 18:42.03
6. Caitlin Smyth 18:46.01
15. Diana Morse 19:26.21
18. Kathryn Case 19:37.67
19. Emily Ward 19:45.17
21. Nicole Erby 19:56.08
24. Samantha Beese 20:22.28
Men's Standings
2. John Ciccarelli 25:34.02
23. Charlie Ban 26:50.82
25. Pat Barkhuff 26:58.85
26. Seann Mulcahy 27:06.11
27. Reynolds Chapman 27:06.35
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES:
1.Richmond 17
2. LaSalle 45
3. Duquesne 60
4. Xavier 112
5. St. Bonaventure 159
6. George Washington 172
MEN'S TEAM SCORES:
1. Duquesne 32
2. LaSalle 54
3. Navy 74
4. Xavier 94
5. Richmond 100
6. St. Bonaventure 180
