University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Spider Alumni Open
Cross Country Competes in Spider Alumni Open
09/03/2011 | Cross Country
RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond cross country squads opened their 2011 campaigns against William and Mary and Old Dominion in the Spider Alumni Open on Saturday morning at the Collegiate School cross country course in Richmond.
The Spider men were edged by W&M by a narrow 25-30 margin, but defeated the Monarchs 15-50. On the women's side, the Spiders topped the Tribe by a 19-44 margin.
"It was a good day and we had a lot of good things come out of the race," said head men's coach Steve Taylor. "After graduating some strong upperclassmen this past year, we needed several of our men to step in as leaders and they did that. Jason (Skipper), Conor (Phelan) and Chris (York) really stepped up for us today. It was a great effort and while we've got some work to do, I'm pleased with the outcome."
Junior Jason Skipper (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon) clocked a time of 14:53.4 to come in a close second to the Tribe's Chris Tyson (14:52.9) and break the previous meet record set by graduated senior Andrew Benford (15:03.20) in 2008. Junior Chris York (White Post, Va./Clarke County) rounded out the top three with a time of 14:54.7, while newcomer Tim Becker (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) turned in the third-fastest freshman time in the meet's 10-year history with a 15:49.0 on Saturday.
Clocking the second-fastest time in Spider Alumni Open history, junior Stephanie Paradis (Leesburg, Va./Stone Bridge) posted a time of 11:02.4 to edge graduated senior Julie Rechel (11:03.3) and the Tribe's Lanie Smith (11:12.5). Spider sophomore Roxanne Henningson (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Greenwich) finished a close fourth with a time of 11:12.8 and newcomer Alli Stapleton (Commack, N.Y./Commack) was the third Spider to cross the tape with a time of 11:22.7, which ranks as the fourth-fastest freshman time in meet history.
"I'm very proud of the day the teams had," added Director of Cross Country and Track & Field and head women's coach Lori Taylor. "Like the men, our women's team is also young and we had some upperclassmen really take leadership roles out there on the course this morning. As they continue to do that, they'll gain confidence in their roles and the team will follow their lead. We're excited for the rest of the season."
The Spiders return to action on Saturday, Sept. 17 when they travel to Williamsburg, Va., for the William and Mary Invitational.Stay up to date on all the latest Spider cross country news here on RichmondSpiders.com. Additional news and notes on the programs can also be found on Coach Taylor's blog and Twitter page.
Spider
Alumni Open - Men's Team Results
Richmond 15, Old Dominion 50
William and Mary 25, Richmond 30
Spider
Alumni Open - Women's Team Results
Richmond 19, William and Mary 44
