Sept. 4, 2009
Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals Results
EMMITSBURG, Md. - Led by Amy Watson (Sr./Hampstead, Md.) and solid packing right behind her, the Navy women's cross country team opened up the year with a perfect 5-0 record at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals on Friday afternoon.
With six schools competing against each other in a dual-scored fashion, Navy defeated American and UMBC each by a score of 24-37. The Midshipmen posted a clean sweep score of 15-50 against George Washington, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis (Pa.).
The Midshipmen have boasted a perfect record at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals in each of their three times at the event.
"It was certainly a nice way to start the year," stated Navy head coach Karen Boyle. "It helped with our scrimmage against Loyola on Tuesday to get some of the jitters and nerves out of the way for the plebes. The underclass was able to step up and provide some help to join our expected senior contributors."
On a warm day with some tough footing, Watson placed third overall out of 66 runners with a time of 18:59.58. The Navy senior has led the Mids across the finish line in each of her last-seven races, dating back to the start of the 2008 season.
After a UMBC and an American runner followed Watson across the finish line, each of the next-six runners donned the Navy blue and gold - separated by only 12.11 seconds. Anna Bernal (Sr./Bonaire, Ga.) placed sixth with a time of 19:11.79, followed by Lexa Gass's (Sr./Crescent, Pa.) seventh-place clocking of 19:13.90 and Erica Ziel's (Sr./Saginaw, Mich.) 19:16.49 showing for eighth place. Brigid Byrne (Fr./Vienna, Va.) rounded out the scoring five with an ninth-place time of 19:17.08, just ahead of teammates Annie Barry (Fr./Crestwood, Ky.) and Mollie Hebda's (So./Pittsburgh, Pa.) 10th- and 11th-place times of 19:17.75 and 19:23.90, respectively.
The Midshipmen will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, when they play host to their only home meet of the year, the Salty Dog Open. Race time is scheduled for 9:45 a.m.
