Dukes Compete at Penn State Open

Friday, October 18

University Park, Pa.

10:45 a.m.

James Madison University

Penn State Open

10/18/2019 12:13:00 PM | Cross Country

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Against five nationally ranked teams, James Madison cross country finished 13^th as a squad at the Penn State National Open. The Dukes had six runners record personal bests in the 6K.

No. 30 Penn State won their national open with 31 points, while Georgia Tech (63) and RV Tennessee (92) rounded out the top-three. Fellow CAA opponent William & Mary competed in the race and came in seventh with 216 points. The Dukes finished 13^th with 339 points for the team.

JMU RUNNERS: Out of 159

Runners	Place	Time
Brooke Manion	62^nd	22:09.7
Kayla Connelly	69^th	22:18.0
Caitlin Swanson	71^st	22:18.2
Laura Webb	76^th	22:25.4
Megan Keady	88^th	22:34.9
Sophie Bollinger	90^th	22:36.8
Clare Morelli	95^th	22:43.1
McKenzi Watkins	98^th	22:44.4
Jessica Cantrell	105^th	22:49.8
Maddy Hesler	109^th	22:50.8
Sophie Hudak	112^th	22:57.0
Sinead Sargeant	116^th	23:07.8

MEET NOTES

Five teams JMU competed against were ranked or receiving votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll – Penn No. 23, Penn State No. 30, Princeton RV, Tennessee RV and West Virginia RV.
11 of the teams were ranked in the most recent USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
- Mid-Atlantic Region: Penn – No. 1, Princeton – No. 2, West Virginia – No. 4, Penn State – No. 5, Maryland - No. 9, Temple - No. 10, Lehigh - No. 12, Bucknell - No. 15
- South Region: Tennessee – No. 3, Georgia Tech - No. 4
- Great Lakes Region: Akron No. 13
Brooke Manion, Megan Keady, Sophie Bollinger, Clare Morelli, McKenzi Watkins and Sophie Hudak all recorded personal bests in the race
Manion, Keady, Morelli, Watkins and Hudak all bested their times from the JMU Invitational
Bollinger upped her personal best from last year's CAA Championship on October 26, 2018
Jessica Cantrell completed her first collegiate 6K

QUOTING COACH DAVE RINKER
"While we have definitely improved from last year, we still need to learn how to race in a big pack. I loved the effort, now we just need to get it concentrated properly. I still believe we can make a big jump for conference."

UP NEXT
JMU will host the Colonial Athletic Association Championship on Saturday, November 2 at 10 a.m. at New Market Battlefield in New Market, Va.