Richmond's lone senior, Lyndsey Webber who finished 3rd overall in 18:22.9 on this unseasonably hot day, led the women's team. She was shadowed closely by teammates Nicole Kurtain (sophomore, 18:25.8) in 4th and freshman Caitlin Smyth (18:31.4) in 5th. Rounding out the scoring for the spiders were freshmen Amanda Russell (8th-18:43.3) and Danielle Binns (9th-18:46.2). Richmond's Jenna Downey also a freshman had an outstanding day placing 14th overall in 19:16.7, a personal best.
As the race started Richmond made it clear they were on a mission as they topped the first steep hill at the beginning of the race. The spiders held 6 of the top 12 places as their top 5 were in close pursuit of eventual race winner Sheila Klick (LaSalle) and runner-up Kristen Coon (Rhode Island). As the team hit the 1mile mark their top 5 were together in 5:26. During the 2nd mile of the race the runners were challenged by the hardest and longest hill on the challenging course, "Parachute Hill". The Spiders looked effortless as they put more distance between themselves and the field. As they emerged from the woods for the final tour of the open field before the finish it was the Spiders impressive pack that held 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th places with only 12 seconds separating their top 5 with 1200m to go. As they topped the last hill in the race team captains Webber and Kurtain had separated slightly from their teammates as they headed for the finish. But Smyth closed hard and Russell and Binns would not surrender as they finished in the top 9 overall to earn 1st team All-Conference honors.
Caitlin Smyth's 5th place overall finish earned her the prestigious Atlantic-10 conference "Rookie of the Year" honor as the Spiders held the top 4 freshmen performers.
Head women's coach Lori Taylor was selected Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year for her team's effort and felt that it was a great sign for the future of the Spiders. "I am thrilled with our team effort today! With 4 freshmen and two sophomores in our top 7 I couldn't be happier. These women came here today and raced from the gun. They have worked hard for this. Our leadership this season has been outstanding. Lyndsey Webber, Nicole Kurtain, and Ali Belicose have led by example and have contributed greatly to this. Our freshmen have been brilliant throughout the season. Today Caitlin Smyth looked like a seasoned veteran. Who would believe it's her first cross-country season ever? Amanda Russell, Danielle Binns and Jenna Downey also had excellent performances. I am most happy about the growth we have seen in our program over the past year. These women know how to win. That seems simple enough, but you don't just wake-up a champion. You learn how to become a champion and we've watched that happen to this team before our eyes" said Taylor.
The Richmond men proved they are the most improved team in the conference with their 4th place finish. The spiders placed 8th at last years championship and were a mere 3 points out of 3rd today with 112 points. The men were led by an All-Conference performance from Tim Caramore in 7th place with a personal best 25:36.1.
"Tim ran very well today. He looked comfortable and never panicked even when the race went out in 4:42. Our team ran well and showed excellent improvement from last year which means a lot for our future" said men's coach Steve Taylor.
The Spiders next competition will be the NCAA Southeastern Regional Championships hosted by East Carolina University and will be held November 15th in Greenville, North Carolina.