Spider Cross Country Competes At A-10 Championships

Saturday, November 1

Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pa.

10:00 AM

University of Richmond

Atlantic 10 Championship

11/01/2014 | Cross Country

By: Richmond Athletics

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The University of Richmond cross country teams competed in the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday morning in Pittsburgh.

The Spider women's team placed third out of 14 teams, while the Richmond men came in sixth place out of 14 conference teams.

Leading the way for the Spider women's team on Saturday morning was sophomore Marisa Ruskan, who placed sixth overall in a time of 17:58.19. Freshman Courtney Thompson made a great debut in her first A-10 race, coming in 11th with a time of 18:08.33. Senior Alli Mannon made it three Spider runners in the top-20, coming in 18th with a time of 18:24.32.

“Congratulations to Marisa Ruskan and Courtney Thompson on earning All-Conference honors today,” coach Lori Taylor said following the race. “As a team, we made some improvement in the past two weeks but not enough to bridge the gap for the win. To miss second place in the team standings by only one point is tough to accept. We had a lot of freshmen out there today. It's good for them to gain this level of experience early in their career and I certainly look forward to their development over the next few years.”

Senior Taylor Clevinger finished in a time of 18:53.07 to place 37th overall, while classmate Clare Moretz came in 40th place with a time of 18:53.07.

Freshman Shelby Cain finished in 42nd place in a time of 18:58.23, while classmate Stephanie Hughes timed in at 19:10.56 to finish in 50th place. Also running for the Spiders were Emma Nowak (68th), Courtney Campbell (76th) and Kaelyn Heinicke (81st).

For the Richmond men, senior Ryan Lee paced the Spiders, placing 14th overall in a time of 24.57.29. Junior Matt McKenna also ran well for UR, coming in 19th place with a time of 25:22.15. Junior Tim Gruber made it three Spiders in the top-25, placing 24th overall in a time of 25:27.61.

"I'm pleased with our men's performance today," coach Steve Taylor said. "I feel like we had a really solid effort. These men went out just as we discussed and made the effort to be in position for a run at the top three. Ryan Lee (14th) earning All-Conference with Matthew McKenna (19th) and Tim Gruber (24th) just outside the All-Conference positions was a good effort by them. Freshman Alex Lucking ran really well to be our no. 4 runner and Paul Myer should get an award for his consistency during his career. This was an interesting course and one I believed could favor our men. Overall, I'm pleased with their effort however we always want to be at the top to the team standings."

Rounding out the scoring for the Spiders were freshman Alex Lucking and senior Paul Myer. Lucking placed 48th overall in a time 25:54.39, while Myer finished 57th with a time of 26:07.16.

Sophomore Andrew Brennan placed 66th in a time of 26:15.01, while senior Matthew Groff came in 72nd with a time of 26:22.87. Also running for Richmond were Johhny Hogue (80th), Andrew Valenski (100th) and Ryan Lerda (118th).

The Richmond cross country teams will be back in action on Friday, November 14 when the Spiders run in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.

For all the latest news and coverage on Richmond Cross Country, be sure to go to RichmondSpiders.com.

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.

Richmond Women's Team
6. Marisa Ruskan 17:58.19
11. Courtney Thompson 18:08.33
18. Alli Mannon 18:24.32
37. Taylor Clevinger 18:53.07
40. Clare Moretz 18:53.07
42. Shelby Cain 18:58.23
50. Stephanie Hughes 19:10.56
68. Emma Nowak 19:30.33
76. Courtney Campbell 19:37.76
81. Kaelyn Heinicke 19:41.85