STATE COLLEGE, PA - No. 22 William and Mary women's cross country raced to seventh place at the competitive Penn State National Invitational this afternoon. The Tribe, facing a field with four ranked programs in the latest FinishLynx Poll, finished the meet with 234 points as No. 2 Providence won the meet with 49, ahead of runner-up No. 5 Duke (60). Also in the strong field were No. 24 West Virginia and No. 29 Boston College. Providence's Kim Smith won the race in 19:46.

Sophomore Julia Cathcart (Starkville, MS) had another strong meet to lead the Green and Gold as the 2003 CAA Co-Rookie of the Year raced to 23rd place in the elite field, clocking a 21:33. Just a few ticks behind were senior Jackie Kosakowski (Sauquoit, NY) and sophomore Meghan Bishop (Blue Bell, PA) who both timed a solid 21:49 to finish in 32nd and 34th, respectively. Junior Karen Pulliam (North Potomac, MD) finished in 71st and senior Becca Velarde (Albuquerque, NM) placed 87th to round out the College's scoring five.

W&M had three runners raced into the top-10 in the open race as sophomore Melle Patrick (Manama, Bahrain) clocked a 23:34 in fourth. Just a second behind in fifth was senior Erin Masterson (Annapolis, MD) while freshman Allie Lewis (Roanoke, VA) claimed eighth.

The Tribe has two weeks off before it defends its conference title at the CAA Championship on October 30 in New Market, VA.


Top-5 Teams
1. No. 2 Providence 49
2. No. 5 Duke 60
3. No. 24 West Virginia 194
4. No. 29 Boston College 198
5. Cornell 210

7. No. 22 William and Mary 234


Top 5 Individuals:
Place Individual Team Time
1 Kim Smith Providence 19:46
2 Mary Cullen Providence 20:23
3 Shannon Rowbury Duke 20:36
4 Megan Metcalfe West Virginia 20:41
5 Sally Meyerhoff Duke 20:42

W&M Individuals
23 Julia Cathcart W&M 21:33
32 Jackie Kosakowski W&M 21:49
34 Meghan Bishop W&M 21:49
71 Karen Pulliam W&M 22:28
87 Becca Velarde W&M 22:39
97 Kristyn Shiring W&M 22:43
115 Lauren Heron W&M 22:58
120 Kaitlin Hurley W&M 23:04
150 Tracy Williams W&M 23:17


Top 5 Individuals = Open Race:
1 Merissa Sexsmith West Virginia 23:12 23:12
2 Christa Sawko Bucknell 23:17
3 Kayla Haloran Bucknell 23:26
4 Melle Patrick W&M 23:34
5 Erin Masterson W&M 23:35

Other Individuals = Open Race:
8 Allie Lewis W&M 23:40
12 Christy Dannenberg W&M 23:55
13 Sarah Roessler W&M 23:55
19 Taylor Barr W&M 24:03
22 Erin Prillaman W&M 24:05
26 Loren Cutright W&M 24:18
32 Meredith Holaday W&M 24:31
87 Shelley Knewstep W&M 26:20