Women's Cross Country Opens With Sixth-Place Finish at Vassar
09/08/07
Vassar College Invitational Results
The New York University women's cross country team opened its 2007 season with a sixth-place finish at the Vassar College Invitational in Poughkeepsie, NY, on Saturday, September 8.
The Violets totaled 171 points and tied with Nyack College for sixth place.
Host Vassar won the invitational with 63 points, followed by the College of St. Rose (86 points) and Stevens Institute of Technology (96 points).
Freshman Emily Olsen was the Violets' top finisher in her collegiate debut, taking 24th place overall with a time of 21:32 over the 5,000-meter course.
"This is a great start for Emily, especially debuting for us on her birthday," said NYU head coach Jef Smith. "She's come into the program with high hopes, and so far she's living up to that."
Senior Jane Wolkowicz was the next Violet to hit the tape, coming across in 28th place a time of 21:35.
NYU's other scorers were freshman Katherine Wang (31st place, 21:45), senior co-captain Natalie Wilson (48th place, 22:49), and junior Daniella Orton (49th place, 22:53).
Also running for the Violets on Saturday were junior co-captain Beatrix Jackson (51st place, 22:59) and junior Megan Buckley (56th, 23:19).
Overall, 14 teams and 124 runners competed. Vassar's Laura Coogan won the race in a time of 19:24.
"It was good to get the first race under our belt and it was a good start to the season," Smith explained. "It was extremely hot out there today, but I expect that as the weather cools down our performances will heat up."
The Violets return to action next Saturday when they host the annual NYU Cross Country Inviattional at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.