After a layover that lasted over two weeks, the Slippery Rock University women’s cross country team returned to action this past Saturday, taking part in an invitational hosted by Lock Haven University. The team finished in the middle of the pack in the meet, which saw 17 teams place scorers on the 6,000-meter course.
West Virginia, a D-1 program, quite literally ran away with the team title, finishing with 27 points, 87 ahead of second-place West Chester. Following them were Point Park (129 points), Lebanon Valley (149), the Penn State club (159), York (162), and the Princeton club (196) before SRU’s eighth-place ending with 218 points.
For the second time in as many meets, Slippery Rock was led by senior Sabrina Palmieri, who finished in 22:38, good enough for 19th place in the 221-person race, and freshman Julianna Stevens, who crossed the line in 49 seconds later for 38th place.
Junior Kacey Raible was the Rock’s third finisher at 23:42 in 54th place. Lexie Firment and Paige Diehl finished in 57th and 60th, respectively, to round out the team’s scorers.
Senior Madison Przicina, who missed the season’s opening race, returned for the meet and was expected to give the team a boost. She ended as SRU’s seventh finisher, in 63rd place. Hannah Kenawell, who finshed at the same time as Przicina, Emily Johnson, Katie Proffitt, and Shelby Gluth capped the team’s top 10 runners, all within the top 100 finishers.
The team will let another weekend off before opening its new home course and hosting the Bill Lennox Invitational at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds on Oct. 6.
