Aug. 31, 2007
Results
BOONE, N.C. - Navy women's cross country sophomore runner Erica Ziel (Saginaw, Mich.) led the team with a 20th-place performance as the Midshipmen placed third out of 11 teams in the season-opening Covered Bridge Open on Friday at Don Kennedy Trails at the State Farm Fields in Boone, N.C.
Georgia, ranked 15th in the nation, won the meet with a team score of 27 points, followed by 21st-ranked Florida State's 35 points and Navy's 95 points. Coastal Carolina placed fourth with 126 points and host Appalachian State rounded out the top five with 141 points.
The Midshipmen benefited from several strong performances, as they landed their top-seven runners among the top-30 overall times and posted a 12-second spread between their five scoring competitors.
"I was very pleased with our results for it being our season opener," stated Navy head coach Karen Boyle. "We are still in the early training phase and the high altitude provides us with a good training environment. Overall, our group objective was to pack well. We did that today with lots of our young runners scoring well and it reflected on the scoreboard."
Competing in a 5,000-meter race at an elevation of 3,300 feet, Ziel led the way for Navy with a 19:22.45 clocking. It marked the first time in her young career that she boasted the team's fastest time in a meet.
Junior Maureen Dooley (Durham, Conn.) finished 22nd with a time of 19:26.10 and freshman Katie Rentz (San Diego, Calif.) produced 19:29.53 showing for 23rd place. Senior Arwyn Becker (Avon, Colo.) immediately followed in 24th place with a 19:30.65 clocking and senior team captain Kyleigh Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.) rounded out the scoring five with a time of 19:34.15 for 27th place. Sophomores Nicole Kauzlarich (Annapolis, Md.) and Amy Watson (Hampstead, Md.) produced finished 28th and 29th, respectively, to round out the scoring contingent for the Mids.
The Midshipmen will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 8, when they travel to the Dartmouth Invitational in Hanover, N.H. Race time is scheduled for 11:10 a.m.
