UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Navy women's cross country team notched a 10th-place finish in the women's collegiate 6K at the annual Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational hosted by Penn State on Friday morning at the Penn State Golf Courses. Alex Wercinski paced the team with a 21:38.7 in her first competition of the season.
 
"The team result wasn't what we were hoping for but that's not our focus right now," head coach Kim Lewnes said after the meet. "It was a large field and we found ourselves too far back right from the beginning. The women moved up well and eventually found their packs. Alex and Olivia are great leaders on the team and they will keep pulling the rest of the team along. It's a starting point and we learned a lot today which will better prepare us for the next race."
 
Wercinski finished 55th overall in the field of 209 runners that completed the race. The senior opened the race in 129th-place through the first checkpoint, but moved up 19 spots to 110th at the 3,100m mark. Wercinski continued to climb in the standings passing 28 runners on her way to 82nd with 1,200 meters to go. She was able to pass 27 more competitors, crossing the finish line in 55th with a time of 21:38.7.
 
Senior team captain Olivia Lutkevich and junior Sophie Compton finished back-to-back in the 6K race. Lutkevich clocked a time of 21:41.8 to finish 66th, while Compton was one spot back with a total time of 21:45.1. Junior Mia-Claire Kezal crossed the finish line just behind Lutkevich and Compton with a time of 21:47.5. Junior Samantha Woodworth and sophomore Lexi Ensor finished in order to come in fifth and sixth among Navy runners. Woodworth posted a time of 22:06.4, while Ensor was three tenths of a second back with a 22:06.7. Freshman Madeline Palmisciano closed out the Mids' top seven with a time of 22:15.7.
 
Senior Katelyn Pepin (22:19.0), freshman Jane Phillips (22:20.4), and junior Kate Leddy (22:21.2) finished in order for the Mids, just outside of Navy's top seven performers. Just handful of spots back for the Midshipmen were freshman Daisy Dastrup (22:23.8) and senior May McConkey (22:25.8). Freshman Paige Sheiffele (22:54.0), freshman Julia Blake (23:21.0), and sophomore Reilly Nussbaum (24:00.8) also competed in the race for the Mids.
 
Meet host Penn State, who was receiving votes in the most recent USTFCCCA national poll, claimed the team title with a low score of 42, while No. 29 Syracuse took second with a combined tally of 62. Princeton was third with 78 points, while UConn boasted the individual winner – Chloe Thomas (19:51.8) – was fourth in the team standings with 91 points. Pitt (164 points) was one-point ahead of Penn (165) to take fifth and Missouri (217), Maryland (242), Bucknell (257), and Navy (290) rounded out the top 10.
 
Columbia (309), Duquesne (320), Monmouth (348), St. Joseph's (407), Lehigh (429), Buffalo (490), and Loyola (539) closed out the team scoring.
 
Up next, the Midshipmen head to the Land of 10,000 Lakes as Navy takes part in the 38th Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis, Minn. on Friday, Sept. 20.