ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Competing on its home course for the only time in 2021, the Navy women's cross country program was a force versus the field of 51 runners and five teams at the Navy XC Twilight meet. Racing on the 6k USNA Cross Country Course that traverses throughout the Naval Academy's golf course, junior
Elizabeth Sullivan (Portsmouth, R.I.) was a standout as she collected the individual title by over 30 seconds with a time of 22:24.83. On the strength of eight finishers in the top-10, the Mids won the team title with a total of 21 points.
The team standings saw Navy surpass Patriot League foe Loyola by 50 points as the Greyhounds finished in second with 71 points. UMBC just six points back of Loyola to place third with 77 points. Catholic University and VMI rounded out the five-team field with respectively totals of 99 and 101 points.
"I'm really proud of the way we performed tonight," remarked head coach
Kim Lewnes. "The women did a great job of working together as a team. We are very deep with just over a minute spread between our top-seven.
Elizabeth Sullivan and
Anna Kovacs showed great leadership in supporting
Carolyn Thurlby,
Kelly Murray and
Charlotte Hill in their first college cross country race.
Lauren Moore and
Alanna Julius also did a great job leading the chase pack and working their way up the second half of the race.
"Tonight's results are exciting and illustrates our depth. We're really looking forward to getting some more of our top runners back in competition and racing next Friday when we head to UVA!"
The 6k race on Friday was all about Sullivan as she led for the majority of the competition, including crossing the 2.75-mile marker with a time of 16:17.271, over six seconds ahead of the field before sprinting away from the pack with a scorching final section of the race. Without a competitor in sight, Sullivan recorded a time of 22:24.821 that was 30.327 seconds ahead of Loyola's Abigail Potticary, who was second at 22:55.148. Racing for the final time in a collegiate meet on her home USNA XC Course, senior
Anna Kovacs (Toledo, Ohio) was strong throughout the 6k as she was second at the 2.75-mile checkpoint before finishing up third with a time of 23:00.493.
The freshmen duo of
Carolyn Thurlby (Overland Park, Kan.) and
Kelly Murray (Fort Washington, Pa.) finished their first collegiate home race in fourth and sixth place respectively with times of 23:08.463 and 23:18.282.
Navy continued its stronghold on the top-10 with finishers in each of the next four positions as
Lauren Moore (Jr., Danbury, Conn.) and
Alanna Julius (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) came in seventh and eighth at 23:21.353 and 23:25.666, respectively.
Charlotte Hill (Fr., Williston, Vt.) made her collegiate debut on Friday and competed the 6k event with a time of 23:28.080. One week after winning the Salisbury Fall Classic,
Emily Ettrich (Jr., Whispering Pines, N.C.) turned in another top-10 performance as she crossed the finish line in 10th at 23:35.181.
Navy will be in action for the third consecutive week with competition at the UVA Panorama Invitational next Friday, Sept. 17.
