Women's Cross Country | October 27, 2018
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. - Junior
Grace Mancini and freshman
Liz Mancini both earned all-conference honors as the La Salle University women's cross country team finished fourth at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship on Saturday. Liz also claimed Most Outstanding Rookie Performer accolades as the top freshman finisher.
La Salle finished behind just Richmond, Dayton and Fordham in the team standings with an overall score of 153.
"Today was a great day for this program," said head coach
Tom Peterson. "The men and women both ran extremely tough and were rewarded with our highest finishes in several years. This group believed in what we told them they were capable of when we recruited them, and to see it start to come together today is special."
WHERE THEY FINISHED
- Grace led for most of the race, getting off to a scorching start and leading the pack at the 3.4K mark. She finished the 5K course in 17:35.6 to place just outside the top five.
- Liz claimed top rookie honors after finishing the race in 17:47.3, coming in 14th out of 130 runners.
- Sophomore Deirdre Gilmore was the third Explorer to cross the line, placing 40th with a time of 18:23.6, while redshirt senior Megan Connell finished 42nd with a mark of 18:25.4.
- Sophomore Allana Powlette also scored for the Explorers, running in 18:34.4 for 51st.
- Freshman Eleanor Mancini and sophomore Lexi Sciortino both finishing inside the top 75 as well in 66th and 71st, respectively.
"The ladies really set the tone for the day," Peterson continued. "They put themselves in position early and fought hard to stay there. Grace took a big shot at winning this race and she will learn a lot from this experience, but what she did do was give the rest of her teammates something to run for.
From top to bottom I'm very proud of this team. To leave Richmond four spots higher than last year with two All-Conference performers and the Most Outstanding Rookie Performer is a great place to move forward from. "
UP NEXT
The NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships are set for Friday, Nov. 9, in State College, Pa.
