Dukes Place Sixth at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite

Friday, September 29

South Bend, Ind.

10:30 a.m.

James Madison University

Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite

Miranda Stanhope at Notre Dame Invite 092923

9/29/2023 4:05:00 PM | Cross Country

Photo Gallery

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Senior Miranda Stanhope rounded out the top 10 to help the Dukes finish sixth in the women's gold 5,000-meter race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on Friday afternoon.

JMU tallied 166 points, 14 behind fifth-place Santa Clara (152). Akron took home the team win with 115 points, followed by Richmond (123), UChicago (127) and High Point (132). The Zips' Mary Munga won the 5K race in 17:02.9.

How It Happened

Stanhope crossed the finish line in a season-best 17:34.1, followed closely by sophomore Faithe Ketchum, who posted a PR of 17:39.4 for 11th.
Classmate Katherine Lawson (24th – 18:00.1) was the Dukes' third finisher, while fifth year McKenzi Watkins (56th – 18:37.4) and sophomore Sofia Terenziani (67th – 18:46.0) rounded out the scoring.
JMU registered an average 5K time of 18:07.4 compared to 18:30.0 at the Virginia Invitational on Sept. 23. Additionally, the spread between scorers was 1:11.9 in South Bend, a 26.2-second improvement from last Saturday.

Quoting Head Coach Rebekah Ricksecker
"I'm proud of our effort today, especially the increased aggression and focus overall, as we decreased the gap between our top seven runners and recorded several PRs. Miranda stepped up and had a great race with her top-10 finish. Faithe Ketchum, Mary Milby, Kristin Giordano and McKenzi Watkins had breakthrough performances. Today was great preparation for the rest of the season as we prepare physically and mentally for the championships."

JMU Runners
10. Miranda Stanhope – 17:34.1
11. Faithe Ketchum – 17:39.4
24. Katherine Lawson – 18:00.1
56. McKenzi Watkins- 18:37.4
67. Sofia Terenziani – 18:46.0
73. Mary Milby – 18:51.6
75. Kristin Giordano – 18:54.2
141. Sarah Cestare – 20:33.7
143. Riley Schindel – 20:35.8
149. Sierra Puleo – 20:43.1
156. Caroline Morley – 21:30.6

Up Next
The Dukes head south for the Upstate Invite on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Spartanburg, S.C. The meet, hosted by USC Upstate, is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Milliken Research Center.