The Shadow
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. (VR) — Richmond’s women’s cross country team placed ninth while the men finished 13th at the Atlantic 10 Championships Saturday at Pole Green Park.
Each of the women’s team’s first four runners across the finish line and four of the team’s five scorers were either freshmen or sophomores, with many racing in their first conference championship meet.
Freshman Kiera Lowman led Richmond, placing 21st in 21:22.4. Sophomore Estella Bruneau followed in 30th with a time of 21:36.3.
Sophomore Lily Strebel finished 56th in a season-best 22:01.4, while freshman Audrey Neilson placed 59th in a season-best 22:03.1. Junior Mia Paolino completed Richmond’s scoring five in 64th with a career-best time of 22:07.8.
The Spiders totaled 222 points. Loyola Chicago won the women’s championship with 69 points.
Sophomore Alex Mastroly paced the Richmond men in the 8K, placing 52nd in 24:58.1. Senior Eric Scully followed in 64th with a time of 25:11.8.
Sophomore Bennett Wright finished 86th in 25:38.8, junior Patrick Doherty placed 88th in 25:42.3 and senior Zachary Stevens crossed the line 89th in a career-best 25:43.7.
All nine Richmond men improved on their times from the Richmond Invitational at Pole Green Park on Oct. 2. Mastroly recorded the largest improvement, cutting 1:46.1 from his time earlier in the month, while Doherty improved by 1:43.2 and Stevens by 1:07.8. Sophomore Jason Raffel also recorded a career best, finishing 114th in 26:22.2.
Richmond scored 341 points. Loyola Chicago won the men’s championship with 38 points.
Next up for the Spiders is the NCAA Southeast Region Championships in Spartanburg, S.C., Friday, Nov. 13.
