University of Richmond Athletics
Spider XC To Host The XC Only National Invitational
10/15/2014 | Cross Country
RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond men's and women's cross country teams are set to host the Cross Country Only National Invitational this Friday at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va. "The Pole Green Park venue is a great location for the event and one that we believe will provide student-athletes with an exceptional opportunity to compete on one of the top rated cross country courses in Virginia", stated Richmond Assistant Director of Athletics Maura Smith.
FRIDAY'S MEET DETAILS
The men's 8K will start at 10:00 a.m. The women's race will follow at 10:45 a.m. on a 5K course. Both the men's and women's races will include teams from seven schools: Radford, Marshall, Mercer, Chowan, Fayetteville State, Longwood, and Richmond.
The XC Only National Invitational is presented by the Collegiate Running Association. "The Collegiate Running Association is very proud to be a part of the first annual 'Cross Country Only National Invitational.' Our non-profit mission is to promote healthy lifestyles among college students, and supporting new and unique opportunities for collegiate runners is something that the CRA is serious about", said Jon Molz, co-founder of the Collegiate Running Association.
The schools fielding teams for the men's race are required to have cross country only with no men's track and field team. "We continue to look to the future and have the vision of bringing more and more of the roughly 200 NCAA cross country only programs together in one venue to compete head-to-head this year and in the years to come", said Richmond coach Steve Taylor. Additionally, Taylor commented, "the race will provide a rare opportunity for our team to compete with other similarly structured programs."
LAST TIME OUT
The Richmond cross country teams traveled to Notre Dame to compete in the 59th annual Notre Dame Invitational. The Richmond women placed fourth out of 26 total teams, while the men placed 14th out of 22 squads.
Four Spiders placed in the top 50 out of the 177 participants. Sophomore Marisa Ruskan finished first for the Spiders with a time of 17:37.5. Freshman Kaelyn Heinicke finished second for the Spiders with a time of 17:37.6. Courtney Thompson (17:41.3) and Alli Mannon (17:41.4) also finished in the top 50 placing 40th and 41st respectively.
Senior Ryan Lee led the Spider men who placed 23rd overall with a time of 24:41.9. Matt McKenna (25:01.7) and Tim Gruber (25:13.1) also finished in the top 50 of the men's field.
CONNECT WITH THE SPIDERS
For all the latest news and coverage on Richmond Cross Country, be sure to go to RichmondSpiders.com.
Additionally, RichmondSpiders.com will be streaming the races live on Friday. Fans can watch the SpiderTV live video stream HERE.
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 and Instagram pages and have also launched their own YouTube Channel.
Players Mentioned
