NEW YORK, NY -- Three of the state\'s top division III programs in the state went head to head at the NYU Invitational held at the historic Van Courtland Park course in New York City. Christopher Newport University, Lynchburg College, and Washington & Lee University were all in attendance at this year\'s race. The Christopher Newport University women (2nd, 112 pts) and Washington & Lee University men (3rd, 120 pts) came away as the top finishing teams, while CNU senior Emily Low (20:11 5K) and Washington & Lee senior Nathan Johnson (27:28 5mile, 4th overall) were the top Virginian finishers.
The Christopher Newport women were able to finish just nine points ahead of the Washington & Lee women (3rd, 121 pts) as both teams figure to be close in the team standings come NCAA Regionals as well. The senior Low paced the Lady Captains to a second place team finish with her sixth place run of 20:11, while freshmen Liz Bissell ran strong in her second collegiate run with 20:23 clocking for ninth place honors. The CNU women put three runners in the top 15 individuals as junior Ashley Ezell (20:51) joined Low and Bissell with a 14th place finish. Senior Megan Fogarty (41st, 21:42) and freshmen Amanda Fitzhugh (42nd, 21:46) finished out the team\'s scoring in their first races this eason.
The Washington & Lee women were led suprisingly by freshmen Jackie Burns as she garnered top 10 honors with an eighth place finishing time of 20:19. She was able to run number one for the squad due to an unusual off day for the team\'s usual number one runner and a returning NCAA Nationals qualifier in sophomore Lindsay Erickson who finished 22nd in a 21:07 clocking.
Teammate Rebecca Taylor was one tick and one place behind Erickson in 23rd place at 21:08. Mary Christopher (31st, 21:20) and Jenny Ratzel (37th, 21:35) capped off a solid top five for Coach Hoey.
The Lynchburg women finished a distance 11th place with 326 points as Kelly Archibald was the team\'s top finisher in 32nd place at 21:23.
The Washington & Lee men were 69 points ahead of the Christopher Newport men, who finished fifth overall in the team standings with 189 points. Finishing right behind defending NCAA South/Southeast Regional individual champion Johnson was fellow sophomore teammate Alex Mahoney in fifth place at 27:30. Rounding the Generals\' top five for Coach Tucker were freshmen Michael Welsh (19th, 28:20), sophomore Andrew Friski (4th, 29:10), and freshmen Alex Jackson (5th, 30:07).
For the second straight meet, the Captains of CNU were led by junior David Barham, who finished 20th overall in a time of 28:21. Another strong individual run was turned by sophomore teammate Daniel Swale with a 25th place effort of 28:33. Freshmen Nathaniel Huffman (45th, 29:36), junior Tim Scott (48th, 29:42), and freshmen David Woodson (5th, 29:51) rounded out Coach Maurer\'s top five.
The Lynchburg men were further back in the field from Washington & Lee and Christopher Newport as the Hornets finished 11th in the team standing with 265 points. Leading the Lynchburg men were freshmen Ricky Flynn (22nd, 28:25) and sophomore Travis Wray (26th, 28:34).