by Chris Johnston
Campus Times Staff
The women?s cross country team knew that the competition at the SUNY Brockport Kick-Off Classic was not going to be the toughest they were going to face this year.
That was what the meet looked like on paper, but the Yellowjackets knew that they still had to run well to beat Brockport.
And run well is exactly what the UR women did. The team covered the slightly longer than 5000-meter course in perfect fashion. UR captured the top five spots en route to a perfect score of 15, compared to Brockport?s 46.
?I was extremely pleased with our team?s performance,? coach Barbara Hartwig said.
?But I was disappointed in the competition. A lot of teams dropped out of the meet because of various reasons.
?Brockport also made the course slightly longer than usual,? Hartwig continued. ?This made it hard for us to compare this year?s times to last year?s.?
Sophomore Mary Lebrun continued her successful college career by capturing a first-place victory with a winning time of 20:19.
Junior captain Lisa Johns came off of a strong track season last spring and hard work over the summer to earn a second-place victory.
?Lisa dropped two minutes off her time on this course from last year, which shows the effort she put into her running this summer,? Hartwig said.
Senior Ashley Ellms also earned points for the Yellowjackets by placing third.
She was followed by senior Kadie Simon and senior captain Amanda Danforth, who came in fourth and fifth place respectively.
?This was Ash-ley?s first collegiate cross country race and she did extremely well considering that her last cross country race was in high school,? Hartwig said.
?This year?s new runners stepped up and helped show the tremendous depth that this team possesses,? Hartwig said. ?Senior Jen Keating, freshmen Kate McKensie, Liz Boerman and Rebecca Braun all had outstanding first races.?
Other notable performances by the Yellowjackets include sophomore Lisa Brassaw and junior Madeline Worsnopp, who finished eighth and ninth overall.
Hartwig also pointed out that the balance of veterans and newcomers will be what carries the team through the season.
The team will go across town Saturday to run against the Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY Fredonia.
?After this weekend, our main focus is the New York University Invitational on Sept. 22,? Hartwig said. ?This is where we will see some of our top competition in the whole state.?
Chris Johnston can be reached at cjohnston@campustimes.org.
