BENNINGTON, Vt. – At its annual Mountaineer Invitational, the Southern Vermont College women's cross country team placed sixth with two runners finishing in the top 10 on their home course.
Eight teams competed in the women's 5000 meter race with Mount Saint Mary College taking the title.
MSMC sophomore Brigitte Leyva (Hyde Park, New York) was the women's individual champion, crossing with a time of 21:50.
The grueling mountain-side course was overcast for most of the day with the sun failing to fully poke through the clouds. Vermont autumn started to make an appearance as the crisp mid-50's temperatures made for great running conditions. The rain was kind enough to hold off until the end of the men's meet after noon, sprinkling the campus as the last participants were crossing the line. All runners and spectators stuck through the heavier downfall as the top 10 individual finishers and top three team placements of each race were awarded to conclude the day.
SVC sophomore Schyler McGuire (Mechanicville, New York) led the team, finishing fifth at 22:58.82. Classmate Shelby Whitman (Bennington, Vermont) was not far behind, crossing at 23:02 for sixth overall.
In her first race as a Mountaineer, senior Emily Freling (Schenevus, New York) finished third for the team with a time of 28:55. Senior Tenzin Dhekyong (Amherst, Massachusetts) was fourth across the line for her crew at 29:50, and senior Sarah Lampro (Otis, Massachusetts) was next for SVC at 32:26, 27 seconds faster than her previous best. Freshman Courtney Kellar (Berlin, New York) was sixth for SVC in her first collegiate race, finishing at 33:26. Sophomore Victoria Cotter (Yonkers, New York) was seventh for the team at 37:59, and junior Ashley Perrino (Schenectady, New York) rounded out the Mountaineer squad with a time of 39:45.
"Shelby's been a great addition to the team," commented SVC head coach Kathleen Newton. "She's really been getting Schyler to push herself. They work really well off of each other, so they're both getting faster and getting better because of that."
"I can't ask for more from the women right now," continued Newton. "They work really hard at practice, their spirit is awesome, and that's great. If they're getting personal records on this course compared to last week, which was a lot faster to run, then I'm really excited for them and what they can do."
Mount Saint Mary saw three finishers in the top 10 on the female side including two in the top three. Leyva narrowly beat out Paul Smith's College sophomore Chloe Mattilio (Willow Street, Pennsylvania) who came in a second later at 21:51. MSMC freshman Brianna Stamm (Levittown, New York) placed third overall at 22:45 to help the Knights take the championship. SUNY Canton freshman Samantha Smith (Mooers Forks, New York) put on the jets in the final 200 yards to move up a placement and finish fourth at 22:58.30, just getting over the line before McGuire.
All of Mount Saint Mary's point-earing runners finished in the top 15, giving the Knights a total of 38 points for the victory. Paul Smith's finished second as a team with 70 points while Castleton State College finished right behind in third with a total of 75 points. CSC was paced by sophomore Margaret Kuchinski (Delmar, New York) who placed ninth overall with a time of 23:51.
There were a total of 65 women compete on the 5000 meter course in one of the bigger meets Southern Vermont has hosted. SVC won the men's 5K race in the afternoon, the first time the team has won its home meet in program history.
Southern Vermont looks now to next Saturday's 1 p.m. start time at the Middlebury College Invitational.
Southern Vermont College
5th – Schyler McGuire (22:58)
6th – Shelby Whitman (23:02)
45th – Emily Freling (28:55)
49th – Tenzin Dhekyong (29:50)
58th – Sarah Lampro (32:26)
59th – Courtney Kellar (33:26)
62nd - Victoria Cotter (37:59)
64th – Ashley Perrino (39:45)