WILLIAMS, Mass. - SUNY Geneseo first-year Olivia Ryan came in eighth overall to lead the Knights to fourth place out of 18 teams at the Purple Valley Classic, hosted by Williams (Mass.), Saturday afternoon.
"The women showed that they can run with any team in the country today," said head coach Dan Moore. "In a highly contested meet with four of the top seven teams in the country, the women's team had a bit of an off day and still ran strong."
In a field that consisted of five of the top-20 teams across Division III, including four in the top seven, Geneseo finished with 75 points to take fourth. Host Williams took first (39) followed by Middlebury (66), MIT (69) and Amherst in fifth (117).
Ryan crossed the six-kilometer course in a time of 22:25.3 while junior Sara Rosenzweig captured 11th (22:35.6). First-year Elise Ramirez had a 15th-place finish (22:43.9) and junior Marissa Cossaro was close behind in 17th (22:49.3).
Sophomore Kristen Homeyer came in 24th (23:15.1) while junior Marissa Bellusci was 26th (23:20.3) and senior Ashton Hughes finished in 30th place (23:26.9) to round out the squad's top-seven runners.
Geneseo returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 3rd, as hosts of the 35th-Annual Mike Woods Cross Country Invitational. The first race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Letchworth State Park.
