Sept. 15, 2007
Results
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy women's cross country runner Arwyn Becker (Sr./Vail, Colo.) produced a ninth-place performance to help the Midshipmen to a third-place finish out of nine teams in front of more than 1,000 fans at the Salty Seadog Invitational on Saturday.
Despite a new course design, weather conditions were favorable for six performances ranking among the 10-fastest times in USNA Cross Country Course history, as temperatures hovered around 75 degrees at race time with a slight breeze.
Louisville claimed the team title with a score of 39 points, followed by Richmond's 54 points, Navy's 79 points, La Salle's 127 points, American's 133 points, Maryland's 150 points, Loyola's 184 points, Maryland-Baltimore County's 208 points and Christopher Newport's 216 points.
"We got off to a slow start, back a little further in the pack during the first loop," stated Navy head coach Karen Boyle. "However, I do believe that this was the most focused our team has been throughout an entire race. With a new course design and hills involved during each mile, it was extremely challenging and did not provide any lulls."
Becker, who led the team across the finish line one week ago at the Dartmouth Invitational, paved the way for the Mids on Saturday with a blistering 22:47 showing, ranking third by a Navy runner in course history.
Team captain Kyleigh Millhouse (Sr./Boiling Springs, Pa.) and Katie Rentz (Fr./San Diego, Calif.) both crossed the finish line in 23:20 to finish for a tie of 15th place. Erica Ziel (So./Saginaw, Mich.) placed 18th with a time of 23:24 and Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.) rounded out the scoring five with a 23:33 showing for 21st place.
For the third time in as many races in 2007, the Midshipmen posted a spread of less than a minute among its five scoring runners, boasting a 46-second mark during Saturday's action.
Navy (3-0) will return to action when it heads to the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa., on Sept. 28, at 2:45 p.m.
