DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Worcester State University women's cross country team placed 18th today (Sep. 17) out of a strong field of 37 teams of all divisions in the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.
Sophomore Mia Rogers (N. Dighton, Mass.) was the first Lancer to cross the finish line as she placed 21st in the meet, cruising in at 18:57, a personal record for a 5K college course.
"Despite her time, Mia was capable of running a faster time and placing higher today," stated head coach Gary Jusseaume. "Her improvements each week impress that she's gaining training strength and a sharper competitive edge and that's encouraging."
Also noticeable was freshman Elisabeth Olsen (Wilmington, Mass.) who finished 87th in the race in 20:13.
"Elisabeth made a significant improvement over her last two meet performances," said Jusseaume. "I'm impressed with her work ethic in training and her tenacity as a competitor."
Junior runner Justine Murdocca (Milford, Mass.) ran the course in 20:13. "Justine pushed herself to a 20:31, a full minute faster than last years' time," noted Jusseaume. "Justine's an extremely determined competitor. I expect her to realize even better PRs as the season progresses."
Next was Laura DelleChiaie (Haverhill, Mass.), Emily Bumpus (Bridgewater, Mass.), Kayley Bowen (Bedford, N.H.), and then Kelsey Bedard (Leominster, Mass.) who all rounded out the varsity team scoring.
In the sub-varsity race, freshman Caitlyn Collins (Peabody, Mass.) ran a strong race in 22:15. "This was her best performance of the season to date in leading the Worcester State JV team," said Jusseaume.
Worcester State was short of some key runners this weekend (Courtney Guay and Katerina Lucier) as they were nursing minor injuries. Jusseaume commented, "The goal was to finish in the top ten of 40 teams. Both athletes strengthen our competitive edge and we missed them in this meet."
On Friday (Sep. 23), the Lancers host the Worcester City Meet scheduled for a 4:40 p.m. start time for the women at Moore State Park in Paxton, Mass.