WASHINGTON – Competing against a field of nationally ranked powerhouses at the Nuttycombe Invitational, the Georgetown women's cross country team secured a top-10 finish while the men placed 17th. The teams faced the challenge at the University of Wisconsin's Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison.
ON THE RECORD
"The Nuttycombe Invitational is always a great dress rehearsal for NCAA level competition; with 17 top 30 ranked teams, this year was no exception. Our veterans understood the environment and executed at a high level, and our athletes new to this level were exposed in a really positive way; you can't fully comprehend your blind spots until you're in a race like this, so we're excited to help everyone build from the lessons we've been given. Now we shift to championship season and up first a more intimate setting at the Big East; it should be a great battle." -Women's Cross Country Head Coach
Mitchell Baker.
"It wasn't a perfect day, but the men got excellent practice competing in a large field. We certainly have some things to work on, but I think this effort will help prepare us for the NCAA meet. Today was a very difficult race so we need to get recovered and rested for Big East in 2 weeks." -Men's Cross Country Head Coach
Brandon Bonsey.
WOMEN'S 6K- RACE A
- Melissa Riggins finished 19th with a time of 20:13.9, leading a quartet of Hoyas that finished in the top 40 and boasted a spread of 17 seconds.
- Almi Nerurkar (30th) was the next Hoya to cross the finish line, followed by Barrett Justema (36th), Charlotte Tomkinson (40th) and Charlotte Bell (118th).
- The No. 22 Hoyas posted 243 points, placing sixth as a team behind No. 2 NC State (1st), No. 7 Notre Dame (2nd), No. 16 Iowa State (3rd), No. 9 West Virginia (4th) and No. 18 Northwestern (5th). Georgetown finished ahead of 11 ranked teams including No. 14 Penn State (7th), No. 11 Stanford (8th), No. 5 New Mexico (9th), and No. 14 Utah (10th).
- GU Point Scorers: Melissa Riggins, 20:13.9 [19]; Almi Nerurkar, 20:27.6 [30]; Barrett Justema, 20:30.5 [36]; Charlotte Tomkinson, 20:31.3 [40]; Charlotte Bell, 21:19.4 [118]
MEN'S 8K- RACE A
WOMEN'S 6K- RACE B
- Caroline Cummings secured the final spot in the top 20, clocking in at 21:49.2. Further back, Alli Cryster crossed the line in 53rd place with a time of 22:31.2.
MEN'S 8K- RACE B
- Caleb Lakeman cracked the top 50 with a time of 25:32.2 (50th), and Akshay Vadul finished 28 seconds later to claim 61st (26:00.6).
UP NEXT
The Hoyas return to racing on October 31 in Omaha, Nebraska for the BIG EAST Championships.
