Final Results

SALISBURY, Md. -- Led by four runners who placed among the top-15 finishers, the Christopher Newport women's cross country team won the 2014 Don Cathcart Invitational, while the men's squad came in third on Saturday afternoon at Salisbury's Winter Place Park.

During the women's 6k, the Captains finished with 51 points to capture the Cathcart Invitational. Individually, three members of the team placed in the top-10, including Logan Harrington, who crossed the line in third. On the men's side, Christopher Newport posted a score of 115 during the 8k, which trailed only Slippery Rock and Navy. JJ LaPointe paced the squad after registering a 10th-place finish.

"I'm extremely proud of how the ladies ran today," said head coach Matthew Barreau. "We ran better today than we did last year at the Conference Championships, which I think was the best race we had ever run as a group. So that is very exciting to see in our first full-distance race of the year."

During the meet, four of the women posted a PR over the 6k distance as Harrington, Julie Machamer, Emmie Schmitt, and Lydia Cromwell all recorded their finest efforts on Saturday. Machamer's performance, which saw her finish 14th with a time of 22:53.61, was especially noteworthy as the senior speedster was in the lead group that was sent in the wrong direction during the race.

"We deal with adversity in many ways, but we don't often have major things happen in races," said Barreau. "Today, Julie was in second about two-and-a-half miles in and somebody told the lead group to go the wrong way. She ended up running nearly a quarter mile too long and ended up rejoining the group in the mid-20's. She responded pretty well and worked back into 14th place and only about 25 seconds out of second. Given that she ran over a minute out of her way, that was good to see her make up some ground. And even with that mishap, she still PR'd by nearly 40 seconds."

In addition to Machamer, Harrington had a tremendous effort on Saturday. Racing on the same course that determined last year's CAC Championship, the sophomore standout shaved over a minute off her time from last fall after clocking in at 22:29.13. That effort led the Captains and placed her third overall, less than eight seconds behind the individual champion. Cromwell was on her heels as the junior crossed the line in fifth with a time of 22:34.84. Schmitt nabbed a top-10 performance as well after placing eighth in 22:41.07.

"I'm really proud of Lydia, Emmie, and Logan, who were leading the second pack and ended up going the right way and found themselves in the lead," said Barreau. "That is a curve ball you're not expecting, where all-of-a-sudden you're leading the race when seconds earlier you weren't. For them to keep their focus and continue racing well was really exciting to see. It gave them some experience and confidence moving forward."

The Captains' top-four finishers all joined or improved their standing on CNU's all-time cross country list. Cromwell and Schmitt both improved their times, while Harrington and Machamer joined the sub-24 club for the first time. Harrington is now fifth in CNU history, while Machamer is 14th.

In a crowded field of 159 competitors, Briana Stewart rounded out CNU's top-five with a 22nd-place showing in 23:06.78. Overall, the squad's top-five performers averaged 22:45.10, which was over four seconds faster than second-place Slippery Rock.

"Briana ran really well today after not racing for a month," said Barreau. "She ran probably one of her best-ever XC races last year at Conference when she placed 4th, and she wasn't too far off that effort today. Again, I'm just really excited about where she and the rest of this team are."

On the men's side, the Captains finished third and saw major improvements across the board. Among the 20 men who competed at the meet, nine posted a PR in the 8k. Equally as impressive, CNU saw 17 competitors finish below 28:06. During last year's CAC Championships at the same course, only 11 eclipsed that mark.

"Our men ran pretty well today, and there were a ton of big improvements," said Barreau. "And we competed well, so it's not that I can say we even left a lot out there; I just don't think we are totally aware of what we are capable of yet. We have time, but we definitely need to have a fast learning curve so we can capitalize on our fitness now and let our confidence grow to a new level from there."

Individually, LaPointe led Christopher Newport after completing the 8k in 25:47.89, which placed him 10th overall. Billy Rabil finished just six seconds later in 12th place, while Andrew Benfer also nailed down a top-30 effort after coming in 27th with a time of 26:20.55.

"Billy was aggressive early and it was good for him to take a chance like that," said Barreau. "That is part of finding out how good we can be. So that's important. JJ ran by himself for about three miles until he got back up to Billy, then they helped each other get through the fourth and part of the fifth mile together. It was great that they joined the sub-26 club. They're now two of only 19 men in CNU history to do that."

Daniel Read also had a strong showing after placing 32nd in 26:26.31, while Charlie Pruitt rounded out the squad's top-five with a time of 26:34.12. Overall, CNU's top finishers averaged 26:12.48, which was just over two minutes shy of the fastest mark set by Slippery Rock's top-five.

Among other performers for the men, Jeff Dover and Samuel Martin came in 39th and 40th, respectively. Dover posted a time of 26:41.00, while Martin was just over a second behind his teammate. In a field featuring 183 competitors, Daniel Richard also recorded a top-50 effort after placing 46th in 26:56.91.

"There's so much to say about how all the men ran today, but I definitely want to point out Charlie, Bruce (Schlesman), and Will (Bruner), who all PR'd by well over a minute today," said Barreau. "Will led the group with a 1:37 personal best today, which was great. He was one of 17 guys who ran 28:06 or better. We've got some great depth, and a great atmosphere on the team, and I'm so excited about our present and our future."

Christopher Newport will return to action on October 4 for the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Oregon.

---CNU---