Cross country places second, fourth at Mount St. Mary’s Invite
The GW women’s cross country team finished in second place overall at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational last Saturday in Emmitsburg, Maryland, while the men’s team squeezed out of a tight race for fourth.
The women tallied 37 points at Mount St. Mary’s, placing them second behind Maryland’s 23 points. Howard took third place at the invite with 80 points and Mount St. Mary’s College finished in last with 95.
The Colonials were led by senior Emily Jadwin (19:11.10), freshman Bridget Skeuse (19:13.50) and junior Trina Bolton (19:17.51), who placed fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, in the 5K race.
For the men, GW senior Dave Azari won the men’s 8K race after a heated three-man sprint to the finish line. He finished with a time of 26:05.60, contributing greatly to the team’s 59-point total. Following Azari for GW was senior Darrell Andruski (26:20.71) in fourth place and Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Ryan Shaver (26:54.78) in 12th. Classmate Bridget Skeuse was also named Rookie of the Week for cross country last week as GW swept the awards.
American won the men’s invite with 51 points, followed by Maryland in second with 53 and Navy in third with 56. Mount St. Mary’s College (139) and Howard (147) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Junior Mary Beth McCullough said the women were pleased with their performance.
“We felt very strong out there, especially because it was the first meet of the season,” she said. “We ran together as a team, and we see it as an excellent start.”
Looking ahead, McCullough predicted that the team would “work on closing the gaps between GW runners in races by packing together more.”
That strategy can be tested next when the Colonials run in the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
-Heather Struck
Golf team opens season with third-place finish
The GW golf team started the season impressively this past weekend, finishing third out of 14 teams at the Navy Open. Shooting a team total 584, the Colonials got strong performances from their youngsters to finish ahead of several teams that typically beat GW.
One of those teams was the host Midshipmen. GW Head Coach Scott Allen said it was the first time GW had ever beaten Navy on its home course. The Colonials also finished ahead of the College of William and Mary as well as conference foes Temple and St. Joseph’s.
Sophomore Andrew Gallo led GW, shooting 72 in the first round Saturday and 70 in the second round. He was closely followed by freshman Jack Tyler, who shot a first-round 69 and second-round 74. Allen said he believed 69 was the lowest score ever shot by a Colonial freshman in his first round of collegiate golf.
Rounding out the GW lineup was junior Brandon Muir (73-73), sophomore Brian Carroll (79-75) and freshman Raman Luthra (78-82). Sophomores Federico Guzman and Dan Mirabella also traveled with the team and while their scores did not count (74-74 and 76-74, resepctively), both played well.
Allen said he was very pleased with the weekend, which put the Colonials ahead of teams that were ranked higher last year. GW’s next tournament is the James Madison Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va., this weekend.
-Jeff Nelson