Cathcart, Bishop Lead Team
SOUTH BEND, IN - No. 24 William and Mary women's cross country raced to sixth this afternoon at the highly competitive Notre Dame Invitational. Competing in the 24-team 6,000m Blue Race, the Tribe battled eight other ranked teams, including No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 6 Michigan, No. 12 UCLA, No. 20 Butler, No. 22 Michigan State, No. 23 Missouri and No. 27 Oklahoma. With four runners in the top-50, W&M bested higher-ranked opponents UCLA and Butler to claim a solid sixth place in the elite field with 226 points. Stanford won the meet with 34 points, ahead of Michigan (84) and Notre Dame (124). Stanford\'s Sara Bei won the race at 16:22.The Tribe was led by 2003 CAA Co-Rookies of the Year Julia Cathcart (Starkville, MS) and Meghan Bishop (Blue Bell, PA) who each clocked 17:30 for the 6,000m. Cathcart just edged Bishop to the line to claim 29th place with Bishop taking 30th. Also having solid runs were senior Jackie Kosakowski (Sauquoit, NY) who ran a 17:43 for 43rd and junior Kristyn Shiring (Stafford, VA) who paced a 17:47 for 49th. Fellow junior Lauren Heron (Manlius, NY) was the fifth Tribe finisher, claiming 85th in the field of 195 runners.
W&M returns to action on October 16 with split squads. Several runners will contest the Penn State National invitational in State College, PA while others will remain in Williamsburg to compete in the squad\'s own Tribe Open.
Top 5 Teams - Blue Race
1. No. 1 Stanford 34
2. No. 6 Michigan 84
3. No. 4 Notre Dame 124
4. No. 23 Missouri 159
5. No. 22 Michigan State 169
6. No. 24 William and Mary 226
Top 5 Individuals - Blue Race:
Place Individual Team Time
1 Sara Bei Stanford 16:22
2 Molly Huddle Notre Dame 16:31
3 Alicia Craig Stanford 16:34
4 Rebecca Walter Michigan 16:44
5 Kerry Meagher Notre Dame 16:45
W&M Individuals - Blue Race
29 Julia Cathcart W&M 17:30
30 Meghan Bishop W&M 17:30
43 Jackie Kosakowski W&M 17:43
49 Kristyn Shiring W&M 17:47
85 Lauren Heron W&M 18:11
103 Becca Velarde W&M 18:24
137 Kaitlin Hurley W&M 18:44
146 Karen Pulliam W&M 18:50