HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's cross country team turned in a strong showing against a Division I-heavy field at the Main Line Invitational on Friday afternoon, placing eighth overall at the Fran Rizzo Cross Country Course at Haverford College.
The Fords totaled 229 points, finishing behind five Division I programs in Villanova (44), Penn (62), Stony Brook (73), La Salle (91) and George Mason (120), along with Swarthmore (170) and Towson (179). Haverford finished ahead of Centennial Conference foes Gettysburg (268), Bryn Mawr (345), Muhlenberg (349) and Ursinus (413).
Senior Anastasia Jaycobs led the way for the Scarlet and Black, placing 33rd overall with a time of 18:49.8. Jaycobs was Haverford's top finisher after also leading the Fords with a first-place performance at the season-opening Alumni/Open Race.
Senior Alice Sappenfield was next across the line for Haverford, placing 42nd overall in 19:05.5. First-year Rylee Diller followed in 55th with a time of 19:44.3, giving the Fords three runners under the 20-minute mark.
Junior Maia Poremba crossed the line 62nd overall in 20:09.3, while senior Grace Chen completed Haverford's scoring five immediately behind her in 63rd at 20:13.0. Just 1:23.2 separated the Fords' first through fifth finishers.
Sophomore Keiko Chinen finished 73rd overall with a time of 20:39.7, while first-year Aaralyn Julian crossed in 77th at 20:48.1 to round out Haverford's top seven.
Sophomore Madeline Ruchelman was the next Ford across the line, finishing 87th overall in 21:15.9. First-year Hala Mohammad placed 104th with a time of 22:25.4, followed by senior Judy Xie in 109th at 22:52.2 and senior Claire Parsons in 110th at 22:59.8.
Villanova captured the team title with 44 points, finishing ahead of Penn (62) and Stony Brook (73). La Salle's Gwenno Goode claimed the individual title in 17:44.0, edging Stony Brook's Shaylen Goslar (17:47.2) and Villanova's Hannah Jicha (17:49.3).
Haverford will now have two weeks to prepare for the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University on Friday, Oct. 2, in Bethlehem, Pa. Racing is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m.
