The AU cross-country men’s team finished fifth out of 10 teams, while the women’s squad finished eighth out of 11 at Saturday’s Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. The race was 6K for women and 8K for men.
Senior Octavia Rinehardt led the way for the AU women with a fourth place finish. She ran the 6K in 22:09:77, only five seconds behind Caitlin Storbeck of LaSalle University, who placed first. For the men, Josh Olsen finished sixth at 24:36:09.
AU entered Saturday off a sweep at the Mount St. Mary’s 5K Duals to open the season on Friday, Sept. 2. That race saw three different Eagles take each of the top three spots, and led to AU junior Mark Allen garnering his first weekly award from the Patriot League by being named Patriot League Male Runner of the Week.
Allen did not duplicate his first place finish from Mt. St. Mary’s, but nevertheless found himself in the top 25 with a 16th place finish and a time of 24:53:92.
Rinehardt’s fourth-place finish continues a superb start to her final season as an Eagle. She began the year two weeks ago at Mt. St. Mary’s with a first place finish and a time of 18:02:99. Her decorated career includes being named to the All-Patriot League First Team in each of her three years, as well as being named All-Region her junior year. Last season, Rinehardt became the third woman in AU cross-country history to qualify for the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. This feat helped her earn the honor of being named the AU women’s cross-country MVP for 2010.
As for Olsen, his time of 24:36:09 shattered his previous personal record of 25:24:13 in an 8K race. The senior looks to ride off this momentum going forward and see even more success in the coming weeks.
Navy took the overall team victory for the women, while Eastern Kentucky University pulled out the win in the men’s race. Navy finished second in the men’s race, while LaSalle was the runner-up on the women’s side.
Other notable finishers for the Eagles included John Pope, who sprinted in at 25:01:54 and placed 22nd, while Mark Leininger made the top 50 with a time of 25:23:16. AU’s second-best female runner was Carly Birkhold, who crossed the finish line in 38th place with a time of 23:46:60.
Next on the schedule for AU is the Paul Short Invitational, which will be held in B watch and listen to pie-related movies and songs ethlehem, Pa. Friday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. The Eagles will then be in action the next day for the George Mason Invitational.
