Women's XC Runs University Race at IC4A/ECAC Championships
Mendelson places fourth to lead Blue Devils to 12th place finish as a team.
Sophomore Brittany Mendelson of the Central Connecticut women's cross country team placed fourth in the women's 5K university race at the IC4A/ECAC Championships held at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx, NY. The Blue Devils placed 12th overall as a team in the meet, which featured 163 runners and 17 teams.
Mendelson, the Northeast Conference individual champion, completed the course in 18:28.3 to pace the CCSU runners.
Senior Ally Gates finished the course in a time of 19:40.2 to finish in the second-fastest time for CCSU and place 59th overall. Senior Mara Lieberman was next in a time of 19:53.5 and placed 69th overall.
Freshmen Madeline Mondo and Dawn Hubbell and sophomore Victoria Cronin rounded out the scoring runners for Central. Mondo completed the race in a time of 20:15.3 to place 88th followed by Hubbell who finished in 20:25.2 and placed 97th. Cronin placed 107th and finished the race in 20:40.7.
Juniors Brandy LeClair and Paxton McNierney and freshman Morgan Ricci also competed for Central. LeClair clocked a time of 21:18.2 to place 127th. McNierney ran the course in 22:13.8 and placed 144th, while Ricci clocked in at 23:20.8 to place 158th.
Isobel Batt-Doyle of St. John's was the top individual finisher in a time of 5:48.7.
The Blue Devils totaled 288 points and averaged a time of 19:44.50 across the five scoring runners to earn the 12th place finish out of 17 teams. Central's 12th place finish put them ahead of schools such as Fairfield, Colgate, Seton Hall and Binghamton.
Marist won with a score of 80 followed by Stony Brook (103), Monmouth (121), Sacred Heart(127) and Fordham (128) to round out the top-five.
The ECAC race marks the end of the cross country season for the Blue Devils. The women finished the 2015 season with three top-five finishes. They finished fourth at both the Ted Owen Invitational and the CCSU Mini Meet held at Stanley Quarter Park. The highlight to the campaign came with a second place finish at the NEC Championships held at Bryant University. CCSU improved by two spots over last fall's NEC finish and saw Mendelson win the individual crown.