MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Competing against some of the nation\'s top women\'s cross country teams, James Madison placed 12th and junior Shannon Saunders (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) finished 16th individually at the Roy Griak Invitational Meet hosted by Minnesota Saturday.
Providence\'s Kim Smith won the race and established a meet record, covering the 6,000-meter course in a time of 20:10. She led the nationally number two-ranked Friars to the team title in the 29-team field.
The runner-up was Wartburg senior Missy Buttry, the defending NCAA Division III champion, at 20:33.
Saunders was clocked in 21:35.
Finishing second in the team standings was 22nd-ranked Arizona State with 81 points. California-Santa Barbara and Baylor, both national Top-30 vote-getters, were third and fourth, respectively. UCSB had 145 points and Baylor 169 points.
Eight of the nation\'s top-30 ranked teams and three national vote-getters competed in the meet. Number 16 Arkansas was fifth (189) and was followed by Butler (199), 30th-ranked West Virginia (213), 24th-rated Texas Tech (24), number 21 Penn State (282), 26th-ranked Colorado State (292), number eight Princeton (315), JMU (328) and vote-getter Minnesota (369).
Other top JMU finishers included junior Nelly Anderson (Charlotte, N.C./Cordillera Academy), who was 38th in 22:14, and freshman Michelle Beardmore (Front Royal, Va./Warren County), who placed 56th in 22:33.
The Dukes\' other runners were junior Tiffany Cross (Rockville, Va./Atlee), 120th in 23:19; senior Kelly Baker (Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg), 122nd in 23:21; senior Ashley Payne (Reston, Va./Herndon), 239th in 25:10; freshman Gina Casella (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle), 248th in 25:36; and freshman Jacqueline Chapman (Centreville, Va./Westfield), 257th in 26:07.
There were 273 runners who completed the race.
The James Madison men finished 16th in a top-caliber field at the Roy Griak Invitational Men\'s Cross Country Meet hosted by Minnesota Saturday.
Nationally number one ranked Wisconsin had the top three finishers and won the 25-team meet with 21 points. Number 24-rated Butler was second (102) and was followed by 30th-ranked Arizona (116), number 16 Minnesota (180) and 14th-rated Providence (184). Nine of the nation\'s top-30 ranked teams and two national vote-getters competed in the meet.
Matt Tegenkamp off Wisconsin won the 8,000-meter race in 24 minutes, 2 seconds. Teammate Simon Bairu was second in 24:07 and the Badgers\' Chris Solinksky took third in 24:11.
The Dukes were led by senior Ted Herbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox), who placed 53rd among 223 finishers. He was clocked in 25:31.
Five JMU runners placed in the top 100, with sophomore C.W. Moran (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac Falls) finishing 81st in 25:57; junior Allen Carr (Yorktown, Va./York), 85th in 26:00; junior Nick Noe (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle), 95th in 26:09; and sophomore Bryan Buckland (Centreville, Va./Westfield), 97th in 26:10.
Freshman Teddy Stevenson (Hartford, Conn./William H. Hall) was 122nd in 26:33, and freshman James Printz (Winchester, Va./James Wood) finished 146th in 26:51.