NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Franciscan University of Steubenville's men's and women's cross country teams both placed third out of 13 teams at the Westminster Invitational, beginning the new season on a positive note and revealing some strong new runners.
The men's team placed third with 99 points, running an eight-kilometer race, and the team was behind Gannon University and Mercyhurst College. The women's team scored 129 points and finished behind Clarion University and Grove City College, in the day's six-kilometer race.
"The team competed extremely well," noted head coach Daniel Kuebler. "The conditions were very tough, but the runners remained determined."
Finishing in first place overall in the race for the men was Bill Jones, one of the team's captains. Jones finished in 27:00.2 with an average pace of a 5:27 minute mile.
Placing sixth overall, and coming in as Franciscan's second male runner was Jack Kaiser, who finished in 28:20.15 with an average mile pace of 5:43. Kevin LeRoy came in at 28:46, with an average mile time of 5:48, placing 11th.
For the women's team, Nicole Krajewski finished in 23:55.6 for the six-kilometer, placing third overall with a 6:26 pace. Theresa Evans, one of the team captains, placed fifth overall with a finishing time of 24:29.5 and a 6:35 pace. Sara Mueller came in at 26:30 with a 7:07 pace, and Molly Chambers finished in 26:37.4.
Kate Paulmann, finishing in 28:01, said of the meet as a whole, "It was a very hot day and we had some really strong competition to run against. The team really united though. We pushed each other and stood together when other teammates were struggling."
The conditions were difficult for the first meet of the season with the temperature in upwards of 90 degrees. Many runners from numerous teams wound up having to be aided by paramedics, and a few were even brought to a local hospital due to overheating in the hot weather.
The cross-country teams next compete at the National Catholic Championship at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. on September 16th.
