W&M Women's Cross Country Takes 19th at Paul Short Invitational

The William and Mary women's cross country turned in an impressive 19th-place finish Friday in the top race at the Paul Short Invitational, scoring 623 points in the 45-team race. No. 3 Providence pulled off the upset of No. 1 Georgetown with 101 points, while the Hoyas (141 points) slipped to fourth behind No. 5 Villanova (104) and No. 12 Syracuse (125). The Tribe finished third among 11 teams from the Southeast region behind only No. 16 Virginia and No. 9 Duke, while beating teams such as Richmond, Maryland, and all four CAA opponents entered in the race. Individually, Villanova's Bogdana Mimic was the champion in 20:10, winning by nine seconds.

The Tribe's superb effort was led by sophomore Elaina Balouris (Allison Park, Pa.) in 20:59. The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year placed 16th overall in her season debut. Finishing second for the team was freshman Jess Cygan (Bethlehem, Pa.), who timed 22:29 in her hometown and finished 117th out of 396 runners. Sophomroe Kathleen Lautzenheiser (Midlothian, Va.) was ten seconds back in 136th, and redshirt-freshman Clarissa Schick (Richmond, Va.) ran 22:56. Sophomore Michelle Britto (Woodbridge, Va.) rounded out the scoring at 23:00, finishing just a hair in front of senior Heather Beichner (Cary, N.C.) who was also credited with a 23:00 finish. Rounding out the team effort was freshman Grace Thomas (Vero Beach, Fla.), in 23:18.

William and Mary will return to action in two weeks for the team's first split-squad weekend. On Friday, Oct. 14, the team's top-runners will head to Wisconsin to take part in the Wisconsin Invitational, while the "B" squad will host the Tribe Open in Williamsburg on Oct. 15.

Paul Short Invitational - 6K
Bethlehem, Pa. - Women's Gold Race

Top Five Teams
1. #3 Providence 101
2. #5 Villanova 104
3. #12 Syracuse 125
4. #1 Georgetown 141
5. #16 Virginia 152
...
19. William and Mary 623

Top Five Individuals
1. Bogdana Mimic (NOVA) 20:10
2. Neely Spence (SHIP) 20:19
3. Emily Sisson (PROV) 20:20
4. Abbey Dagostino (DART) 20:22
5. Lauren Penney (SYRA) 20:32

W&M Individuals
16. Elaina Balouris 20:59
117. Jess Cygan 22:29
136. Kathleen Lautzenheiser 22:39
173. Clarissa Schick 22:56
181. Michelle Britto 23:00
182. Heather Beichner 23:00
207. Grace Thomas 23:18
293. Sara Lasker 23:50
316. Lanie Smith 24:02

Open Race - 6K
W&M Individuals
31. Lauren Strapp 23:10
38. Christina Lee 23:24
46. Katie Buenaga 23:31
66. Leah Fitchett 23:51
67. Melissa DiVecchia 23:52
104. Brittany Sevachko 24:36