Category: Cross Country

Jonathan Towers

Contributing Writer

The women’s cross country team traveled to Lafayette University on Oct. 19 to race in the Leopard Invitational, in a preview of what is to come at the Patriot League Cross Country Championships on Nov. 2.

The Bison raced against six of the 10 Patriot League affiliated schools, as they familiarized themselves with the course and competitors that they will compete on and against for the Patriot League Championship. The Bison finished second out of 14 teams.

Catherine Scott ’17 was the top Bison finisher for the women on the hilly 6k course in 22:45, putting her in 13th place overall.

“The teamwork on this team has made this a great first season of cross country because everyone is so encouraging and supportive. I am very excited for leagues because our team has a very good shot at winning it,” Scott said.  

The remaining scorers for the Orange and Blue finished within seconds of each other with Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 leading the way in 15th place in 22:52, followed by classmates Katie Jessee ’15, Kylie Pearse ’15, and Zoe Gaston ’15 all finishing in 17th, 18th, and 19th place in 23:01.04, 23:01.80, and 23:02.66, respectively.

“In the race on Saturday, we stuck together as a pack throughout the majority of the race and achieved the goals Coach Donner hoped we would,” Gaston said. “I think this gives us some confidence and sets us up well for a successful championship meet in two weeks.”

Overall, the Bison ran solidly as a team and put themselves firmly in the conversation of potential Patriot League Champions. The Patriot League Championships will be at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2 at Lafayette.

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

Women’s XC successful in both weekend meets

The women’s cross country team had a successful weekend, finishing 10th in the Coast to Coast Battle as well as winning the Husky Invitational.

The Bison traveled to Boston to compete in the Coast to Coast Battle hosted by Boston College on Sept. 27. The field of 14 teams included many strong programs from across the country, including four of the top 25 collegiate squads. The Orange and Blue were led by Kylie Pearse ’15, who recorded a time of 18:29 to secure the 59th position out of 146.

Pearse was followed closely by teammate Montana DiPietrantonio ’15, who finished 61st in 18:31. Catherine Scott ’17, Sarah Chandler ’17, and Zoe Gaston ’15 finished out the top five for the Bison, with Scott and Chandler both coming in at 18:55 and Gaston at 18:57. Their finishes contributed to the Orange and Blue’s 10th-place finish that day.

Another part of the Bison squad traveled to Bloomsburg University on Sept. 28 to compete in the Husky Invitational. Kate VanNess ’15 came in third with a time of 19:28.4 to lead the way for the Bison, while Beth Braunegg ’14 and Maddie Dulac ’15 followed right behind her in fourth and fifth with respective times of 19:39.9 and 19:41.3. Their performances contributed to the team’s victory, with seven out of the top 10 spots belonging to the Bison.

The strong performances over the weekend for the Bison led to recognition in the Patriot League weekly awards for one of the team members. Catherine Scott ’17 received the Female Rookie of the Week award for her 18:55 finish in the Coast to Coast Battle against some of the top runners in the country.

The team will compete tomorrow at Lehigh University in the Paul Short Invitational.

Cooper Mead

Senior Writer

The women’s cross country team claimed a runner-up finish at Penn State’s Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at its first away meet of the season. The meet came after a great performance at the Bison Open. Penn State won the meet with 15 points. The Bison tallied 60 points to defeat Pittsburgh with 84 points, Mount St. Mary’s with 113 points, and West Virginia with 126 points.

The team was led by Catherine Scott ’17 and Kylie Pearse ’15, who both produced important top-10 finishes to propel the Bison to the runner-up spot. Scott placed 10th with a time of 22:05, and Pearse recorded the Bison’s best time of 22:00. In addition, Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 placed 15th with a time of 22:20, Katie Jessee ’15 placed 14th with a time of 22:20, and Sarah Chandler ’17 placed 12th with a time of 22:18 to aid the Bison effort.

“We wanted to practice pack running, which helped us with moving throughout the race,” Alison Lockwood’15 said. “I think that going in with a strategy helped us to focus during the race and achieve our goals for the meet.” 

“The meet this past weekend was our first really competitive meet of the year,” Beth Braunegg’14 said. “It was also our first 6k of the year, which can be daunting, but we made it our team goal to remain focused and vocal throughout the race. A lot of girls really stepped up to the challenge and we’re really excited to face more competition in Boston in two weeks.” 

After their encouraging performance at Penn State, the Bison are hoping to carry their momentum forward as they prepare to compete at the Boston College Coast to Coast on Sept. 27 and the Bloomsburg Invitational on Sept. 28.

Lauren Boone

Contributing Writer

On Nov. 9, the women’s cross country team traveled to Penn State to compete in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships to close out its season, where they finished 12th out of 31 teams. The Bison were led by a respectable performance from Caroline Tolli ’13.

Leading the Orange and Blue in the six-kilometer course, Tolli crossed the finish line with a time of 22:06, claiming a 54th place finish. Following close behind her was Katie Jessee ’15, who placed in 58th with a time of 22:10. Deanna Godby ’16 was next for the Bison, finishing in 73rd with a time of 22:20.

Despite a knee injury early in the season, Hana Casalnova ’14 recovered strong and became a scoring member of the team, finishing 86th (20:43). The fifth place finisher for the Bison was Meghan Carroll ’16 (22:55) in 99th place, followed by teammates Alison Billas ’16 (122nd; 23:15) and Betsy Edinger ’15 (129th; 23:19).

“It’s impressive we did so well with such a young team,” Edinger said.  “[The freshman] really stepped up when they needed to. [Tolli], our one senior, has been our top finisher all season … she had an amazing season and was an inspiration to us all. I think that because we’re young we’re only going to get better … right now we’re just starting. I’m really proud of my team.”

In the overall team standings, the Bison ended up in about the middle of the pack with 368 points. Penn State claimed first in the region with a score of 61. Nicky Akande of Villanova was the top individual finisher with a time of 20:14.

The Orange and Blue have now completed their schedule for the fall season.

Katherine Harris

Writer

The women’s cross country team performed strongly at the Patriot League Championships last weekend, falling only to Navy to place second on the day. Individual Bison also shone, as three were named to All-Patriot League teams for their performances.

“We were proud of our performance this weekend. Navy ran a very strong race, and we respect them for that, though it is certainly disappointing not to come out on top,” Caroline Tolli ’13 said.

The Orange and Blue traveled to Colgate University on Oct. 27 to compete with the top teams in their league for the conference title. Though the team has been struggling with some injuries this season, the Bison started out aggressively in the race. The day ended with the women pulling in the runner-up title, once again falling to Navy as they did last year.

Many individuals held strong and placed amongst the top runners in the league. Leading the way for the Bison was Tolli, who has been a consistent presence at the top of the leaderboard for the team all season. With an impressive time of 22:56.0, she finished seventh in the field and earned a spot on the First Team All-Patriot League team.

Two other Bison were also honored with All-Patriot League team selections, as Deanna Godby ’16 and Katie Jessee ’15 were named to the Second Team for their strong performances. Both team members followed close behind Tolli in the race, with Godby earning 10th place with her time of 23:14.9 and Jessee bringing in 13th for the Orange and Blue with a time of 23:28.0.

“I was most impressed with the strong performance of the younger members of our team. Three of our scoring five finishers were freshmen and one was a sophomore,” Tolli said. “That’s exciting. This is a young team and they already know how to race tough in high-pressure situations.”

Alison Billas ’16 and Meghan Carroll ’16 rounded out the top five for the Bison, contributing to an overall team score of 68. Billas posted a time of 23:36.5 for 16th place on the six-kilometer course, while Carroll finished in 22nd place with a time of 23:49.4.

The Orange and Blue will now have a week off to prepare before gearing up for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. The team will travel to Penn State on Nov. 9 to compete against the top runners in the region.

Cooper Mead
Writer

The women’s cross country team started off their season strong on home turf on Aug. 31 at the Bison Open as Maddie Dulac ’15 led the team with an 18:26 finish in the three-mile run. Dulac finished fourth overall, trailing 40 seconds behind the overall winner, Bloomsburg’s Victoria Davis.

Justine Schnell ’15 finished on the heels of her teammate with a time of 18:27, Paige Lommerin ’16 finished with a time of 18:46, Zoe Gaston ’15 finished with a time of 18:51 and Nora Adams ’16 finished in 18:56 which allowed the Bison to tally five top 10 runners.

“The Bison Open was an opportunity for some people to prove themselves. We held out our top 13 to save them for Colgate, but we did have a few runners really rise and they are putting themselves in position for some travel spots later in the year,” head coach Kevin Donner said.

On Saturday, the Bison continued their successful weekend of competition as they traveled to Colgate for the Harry Lang Invitational, finishing second overall. The Bison women were led by Caroline Tolli ’13, who finished eighth overall in the women’s 4,200-meter course with a time of 16:21.

The rest of the Bison runners weren’t far behind, with Katie Jessee ’15 placing ninth with a time of 16:28, Alison Billas ’16 placing 12th, Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 placing 14th, Deanna Godby ’16 and Beth Braunegg ’14 tying for 16th and Leah Goeke ’13 finishing in 20th.

The Bison placed second with 60 points by narrowly shifting Navy, who gathered 67 points, but lost to a Syracuse squad who tallied 24 points. Despite Navy having two runners placed above Tolli, seven of the Bison women finished in the top 20 which secured second place for the Orange and Blue.

“The women ran a very conservative race early and really came on strong at the end. The ladies at the Harry Lang Invitational ran very patient and handled the tough cross country course very well,” Donner said. “I was not concerned with the final result. I just wanted to see us execute our own race plan and to get to know the Patriot League Championship course better. Finishing second out of 10 was nice, but not our overall objective. It was a nice start and the ladies are excited about the next two months.”

The Bison will travel to Northville, Mich. to compete in the Running Fit-Detroit Titan Invitational on Saturday.