ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Senior Lilianna Peters and sophomore Elaina Williams both broke 20 minutes to lead the D'Youville women to an 11th-place team finish, while junior Brennen Yates paced the men on Saturday at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational on the Roberts Wesleyan Cross Country Trails.
The meet drew 18 scoring teams in each race from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, giving the Saints a deep, competitive field to measure themselves against heading into October.
Women's 5K
Peters set the tone for the Saints, finishing 35th out of 173 runners in 19:38.7. Williams followed in 54th at 19:59.9, giving D'Youville two runners under the 20-minute mark.
Junior Melissa De Jong placed 76th in 20:29.0, and sophomore Andrea Marquina came in 96th at 20:51.2. Freshman Arycela Guillen rounded out the scoring five in 21:27.1, placing 114th.
D'Youville totaled 305 points with a team average of 20:29.2, landing in a tightly packed middle of the standings. The Saints edged St. Clair County CC by three points and Rochester by four, and finished ahead of Ursuline (Ohio), Alfred, Clarkson, UB Run Club and Morrisville State.
Junior Tayden Persons (23:01.7) and sophomore Morgan Heise (23:29.0) ran as the sixth and seventh runners, with sophomore Taylor Bond (24:13.9) and junior Grace O'Neill (27:01.3) also competing.
Edinboro won the team title with 43 points, followed by Roberts Wesleyan (69) and Cortland State (72). Cortland State senior Melissa Innocent took the individual crown in 17:53.2.
Men's 8K
On the men's side, Yates crossed the line 98th in a 244-runner field, covering the 8K course in 27:53.5 and finishing ahead of 146 runners. Sophomore Maxim Stinner was the second Saint in, placing 145th in 28:36.6.
Freshman Eli Lantz (32:11.5) and junior Thomas Le (32:17.1) ran just six seconds apart to finish 219th and 221st, while senior Jackson Collins completed the scoring five in 33:22.2. Freshman Nick Filice added a 36:22.3 as the team's sixth runner.
The Saints finished 18th with 530 points. Host Roberts Wesleyan claimed the team title with 43 points, placing five runners in the top 16, while Edinboro was second with 69. Roberts Wesleyan senior Jackson Doran won the individual title in 25:06.9.
The Saints return to action Friday, Oct. 2, at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa.
