Oct. 28, 2006
Results
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Navy women's cross country seniors Justine Whipple (Duxbury, Mass.) and Emily Castro (Centennial, Colo.) placed among the top-five to lead the Midshipmen to a second-place finish at the Patriot League Championship in Hamilton, N.Y., on Saturday morning.
Winds gusting over 25 miles per hour and nearly an inch of rain made the hilly Harry Lang Course difficult for the competitors on Saturday, as much of the race was run in mud-covered trails.
Preseason league favorite Bucknell won the league for the second-straight year with a team score of 28 points. Navy followed in second in 79 points, three fewer than third-place host Colgate. Lehigh landed in fourth, followed by Army, American, Lafayette and Holy Cross.
"We were hoping to have a stronger race to compete with Bucknell this year," stated Navy head coach Karen Boyle. "However, given the soggy conditions, we are pleased with our finish."
Saturday's second-place finish tied Navy's highest placing at the league since joining the Patriot League in 2003. The Midshipmen also finished second at the 2004 league championship hosted by Bucknell.
For the her 11th-consecutive race, Whipple led the Midshipmen with a third-place time of 23:37.5 to earn First-Team All-Patriot League honors for her second-straight year. Last year, she also finished third at the league championship on Lehigh's Goodman Campus Course. The three-time Patriot League Runner of the Week has placed among the top-15 in all five of her races this year and 10 times since the start of the 2005 season.
Castro earned first-team all-league distinction for the third time in her career with a time of 23:55.5 to place fifth. The senior also finished among the top-seven runners at the Patriot League Championship in 2003 and again in 2004. The product of Centennial, Colo., has posted the team's fastest or second-fastest time in all six meets this year.
Junior Kyleigh Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.) crossed the finish line in 24:56.9 to record Navy's third-best time on Saturday, the 21st-best time among all runners. Senior Juliann Jordan (Kanehoe, Hawai'i) followed in 23rd place with a 25:03.2 clocking and senior Allison Barlow (Orange Park, Fla.) rounded out the scoring-five with her 25:12.6 showing to finish 27th.
Senior Susan Richardson (Louisville, Colo.) placed 29th with a time of 25:16.5 and sophomore Maureen Dooley (Durham, Conn.) finished in 25:21.8 to land 34th overall and serve as Navy's displacing scorers.
The Midshipmen will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 11, with the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional in Lock Haven, Pa., starting at 11 a.m.
