Defeats James Madison by One Point
NEW MARKET, VA - With five runners earning all-conference honors William and Mary women\'s cross country edged James Madison in a thrilling 36-37 finish to repeat as CAA Champion and win its 12th conference title overall. The one-point victory is the closest in the history of the CAA, and the Tribe won the battle thanks to its consistent depth. The two squads were evenly matched at the top, but W&M placed all of its scoring five in the top-12 and all of its scoring seven ahead of James Madison\'s No. 5, while the Dukes were forced to count a 15th place result towards its team total. Shannon Saunders of James Madison won the individual title by completing the 6,000m New Market Battlefield course in 21:00.4.Senior Jackie Kosakowski (Sauquoit, NY) led the College\'s winning effort, racing to second in 21:24.5 to secure her fourth career all-conference honors. The Tribe\'s talented duo of sophomores Julia Cathcart (Starkville, MS) and Meghan Bishop (Blue Bell, PA) came through for the squad by keeping pace with the Dukes by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, with times of 21:45.0 and 21:48.5. Juniors Kristyn Shiring (Stafford, VA) and Karen Pulliam (North Potomac, MD) stepped up for the College by racing to 11th (22:12.30) and 12th (22:27.30), respectively, to round out the squad\'s scoring five and completing those from the Tribe earning All-CAA accolades (awarded to top-12 finishers).
The Green and Gold also saw key performances from senior Becca Velarde (Albuquerque, NM) and freshman Kaitlin Hurley (Portland, OR) as the duo finished 13th and 14th, respectively. As the Tribe\'s sixth and seventh runners, the two\'s scores did not count towards the Tribe\'s total but their scores did displace those further down in the finishing order, and by placing 13th and 14th the duo finished ahead of James Madison\'s fifth runner (who took 15th) and preserved the one-point victory for W&M.
Also with solid showings were senior Tracy Williams (Oak Hill, VA) in 16th and freshman Taylor Barr (Asheville, NC) in 17th. Senior Erin Masterson (Annapolis, MD) claimed 22nd in a solid effort.
The Tribe has two weeks off before competing at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Greenville, NC on November 13 as it aims to return to the NCAA Championship.
Top 5 Teams 1. William and Mary 36 2. James Madison 37 3. Virginia Commonwealth 106 4. Towson 116 5. Delaware 127 Top 5 Individuals: Place Individual Team Time 1 Shannon Saunders JMU 21:00.4 2 Jackie Kosakowski W&M 21:24.5 3 Colleen O\'Brien UD 21:27.0 4 Nelly Anderson JMU 21:40.7 5 Julia Cathcart W&M 21:45.0 Other W&M Individuals in Top-12 (All-CAA honors) 6 Meghan Bishop W&M 21:48.5 11 Kristyn Shiring W&M 22:12.3 12 Karen Pulliam W&M 22:27.3 Other W&M Individuals 13 Becca Velarde W&M 22:35.2 14 Kaitlin Hurley W&M 22:53.2 16 Tracy Williams W&M 22:58.0 17 Taylor Barr W&M 23:15.9 22 Erin Masterson W&M 23:41.5 28 Heather Stevenson W&M 23:59.0 29 Allie Lewis W&M 24:02.5