Runners step in right direction
From the Eagle Sports Desk
The Men's Cross Country team won the Mt. St. Mary's Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13 in a final score of AU 51, Maryland 53, Navy 56, George Washington 59, Mt. St. Mary's 139 and Howard 147.
The top finisher for AU was freshman Pat Buford, who lost in a final sprint versus GW's Dave Azari in a time of 26:08.11. Other top runners for AU were second-placing Connor Lunz with a time of 26:25.63 and 10th-placing junior Pat Barresi with a time of 26:25.63.
The Women's Cross Country team traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy for the Salty Dog Invitational, which was hosted by the academy. AU won in a final score of AU 23, Navy 37 and UMBC 69.
The top three runners in the race leading AU to the win were sophomore Keira Carlstrom (19:05.94), senior Jen Baclawski, who was last year's Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year (19:07.93) and freshman Kelley Taylor (19:38.53) in her first race.
This was Carlstrom's first individual title in competition. She came in second last year at the Maryland Invitational. The other top 10 runners for the team were junior Whitney McNees (19:52.92), who finished ninth, and 10th-place runner sophomore Zaia Wharton (19:54.72).
The Eagles continue their season next week at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland.
