University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Spider Alumni Open
UR Women Win Alumni Open; Men Finish Second
09/05/2015 | Cross Country
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. – The Richmond Women's Cross Country team finished first in the 2015 Spider Alumni Open at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va. The Spider Men's Cross Country team came in second in the 14th edition of the race.
The standout performer of the day was sophomore Courtney Thompson who finished in first place in the two-mile women's race with a time of 11:09.7. The Richmond women had five of the first seven finishers, with Kaelyn Heinicke finishing in third with a time of 11:22.5 and Marisa Ruskan finishing right behind her in fourth with a time of 11:23.4. The Spiders finished in first place with 21 points.
“I'm really excited for Courtney on the win and really excited on the way the team executed today,” head coach Lori Taylor said. “The plan for today was to split into two groups. The front group got out aggressively but in control the first mile, which Courtney was a part of that pack. “
The Spider men's team finished in second place in the 5k race, with top performer Tim Gruber finishing in second place overall with a time of 15:05.9. The second Spider to cross the line was senior Matt McKenna, who finished ninth among varsity runners with a time of 16.06.7.
The women finished with an impressive score of just 21 points. Also finishing in the top 10 was Senior Tara Hanley in sixth place, who crossed with a time 11:23.9. Finishing right behind Hanley was sophomore Amanda Corbosiero in seventh with a time of 11:27.4.
On the men's side, senior Justin Keefe in 12th among varsity runners with a time of 16:15.6, sophomore Johnny Hogue had a time 16.24.7 and junior Andrew Brennan finished with a time of 16.25.8.
“Overall, I thought it was a solid performance and a good way to start the year,” head coach Steve Taylor said. “The Spider Alumni Open is a really great event. Tim Gruber ran really well, he made some really good decisions out there trying to win that race.”
Davidson finished in first place in the men's 5k with 20 points, Richmond finished in second with 54 points, in third place was George Mason with 61 points and in fourth was VCU with 99 points.
The Richmond women won the two-mile race with 21 points. The Davidson women finished in second place with 39 points. In third place was the VCU women's team with 76 points and in fourth place was George Mason with 110 points.
The Spider's look to improve on their impressive start when they travel to New York to compete in the Iona College Meet of Champions on Saturday, September 19th.
Players Mentioned
