SALISBURY, Md. – The Navy women's cross country team emphatically kicked off its 2019 campaign on Saturday at the 23rd Annual Salisbury Fall Classic. Taking part in the five-team meet at Winter Place Park, freshman
Elizabeth Sullivan (Portsmouth, R.I.) was the class of the 76-person field with the winning time of 22:07.93. As a team, the Mids edged out Seton Hall, 27-32 to earn
Kim Lewnes her first collegiate win as a head coach.
The final team standings for the annual meet consisted of Navy in first with 27 points, Seton Hall in second with 32 points, Salisbury in third at 83, Shenandoah in fourth at 122 and DeSales in fifth at 131.
"I'm really proud of the team's attitude and effort today," remarked Lewnes, who was making her head coaching debut for Navy on Saturday. "The women worked together to execute the race plan exactly as it was designed."
Averaging a 5:56.2 mile time, Sullivan dominated the competition in her first collegiate race as she crossed the finish line with a time of 22:07.93, 25.29 seconds ahead of Seton Hall's Kassandra Yocco, the event's runner-up.
After a trio of Pirates finished second, third and fourth, the Mids rounded out the rest of the top-10 with six straight runners closely packed together completing the 6k course with times between 22:42.23 and 22:53.43. Freshman
Lael Flores (Harleysville, Pa.) was the fifth-place finisher on Saturday with a time of 22:42.23.
Six seconds back,
Karla Mendoza (Sr., Madison, Neb.) led a quartet of runners that finished within just over two seconds of each other. The senior clocked in at 22:48.88, right ahead of
Meghan Sculli's (So., Hilliard, Ohio) 22:49.47.
Annie Imhof (Jr., Great Mills, Md.) and
Julia Galbraith (Fr., Glen Allen, Va.) placed eighth and ninth overall with times of 22:50.11 and 22:50.95, respectively.
Senior
Piper Freed (Middletown, Del.) closed out the top-10 with a 22:54.43 time.
In total, 25 Midshipmen suited up and raced on Saturday, including eight freshmen.
"The team win and Elizabeth's individual win was a great way to kick off the season," said Lewnes. "Thank you to Salisbury for hosting a great season opener!"
The Mids will continue their early-season schedule next Saturday with action at the Harry Lang Invitational in Hamilton, N.Y.
