BENNINGTON, Vt. – A good start to the 2016 season saw the Southern Vermont College women's cross country team place second overall on Saturday during its annual home Mountaineer Invitational.
SVC placed two runners in the top 10 and another pair at 16th or better to tally 59 team points. Castleton State University captured the meet title with 41 total points, seeing three of its runners come through in the top 10.
A touch of Vermont fall could be felt in the air during the morning as the teams got loose and warmed up, but the bright-shining sun brought the temperatures into the low 70's by race time. The challenging course was in good condition, giving all the runners a well-groomed but tough start to many of their seasons.
Both individual champions hailed from Castleton as freshman Kaylyn Crompton won on the women's side with a time of 20:11 before junior Grandon Smith bested the rest of the men's participants at 17:38. The SVC men's squad claimed the team championship for the second time in three years.
SVC will look to come back and top the Spartans next week on their home course as the Mountaineers head north for an 11:45 a.m. start at the Castleton Invitational on Saturday, September 10.
FULL Women's 5k individual & team results: http://svcathletics.com/sports/wxc/2016-17/files/2016_MountInv_Womens_Results.pdf
Bennington College junior Annika Kristiansen (Keene, N.H.) came through first for Southern Vermont, placing sixth overall with a time of 22:09. She was followed by senior captain Shelby Whitman (Bennington, Vt.) who turned in a mark of 24:24 to place 10th overall while classmate Skye McGuire (Mechanicville, N.Y.) was not far behind at 25:07 for 11th overall.
SVC sophomore Morgan Arleth (Berlin, Vt.) had a stellar finish, pushing herself hard to come in at 26:21 for 16th overall. The Mountaineers' scoring was rounded out by senior Emily Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.) who crossed the line at 27:49, just ahead of rookie classmate Jordan Welch (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) who finished with a 27:50 performance.
Southern Vermont sophomore Morgan Kaeppel (Vernon, N.Y.) was next for the hosts at 29:23, and senior Kaylee Cross (Lewis, N.Y.) followed for the Mountaineers at 35:48.
Following the race, SVC head coach Kathleen Newton and her underclassmen recognized and honored Cross, Lesure, McGuire, Welch and Whitman for their hard work and dedication to the program as they began their final seasons with the Mountaineers.
Southern Vermont
6th - Annika Kristiansen: 22:09
10th - Shelby Whitman: 24:24
11th - Skye McGuire: 25:07
16th - Morgan Arleth: 26:21
21st - Emily Lesure: 27:49
22nd - Jordan Welch: 27:50
27th - Morgan Kaeppel: 29:23
37th - Kaylee Cross: 35:48
– #LetsGoSVC –