Women's Cross Country Takes 5th at NCAA Championship

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (11/23/09) - The Princeton women's cross country team finished fifth at the NCAA Championship on Monday, Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. This is the second straight season that the Tigers finished in fifth place, the highest finish in program history.

It was unseasonably warm for this time of year, with temperatures in the upper 50s, making the 6k race a bit different than in years past.

Senior Liz Costello was called to the awards podium for finishing in the top 25 and earning All-America honors. She finished 18th with a time of 20:25, the second time in as many years that she has been in the top 20 individually.

Sophomore Alex Banfich placed 43rd on a course that she calls home. Banfich won three state championships on LaVerne Gibson Championship Course while in high school, and ran the course for the 10th time of her career. She posted a time of 20:58.

Junior Sarah Cummings was three seconds behind Banfich, at 21:01 to finish 49th. She shaved 15 seconds off her time from last year's championship. Classmate Ashley Higginson was not far behind taking 57th with a time of 21:07. Senior co-captain Reilly Kiernan finished in 21:19 to place 84th.

Villanova won the race with 86 points, taking out favorite Washington, which came in third with 188 points. Florida State placed second with 133 points and Texas Tech recorded 191 points. Princeton followed with 251 points, ahead of sixth-place West Virginia by a slim eight points.

Illinois Angela Bizzarri took top honors with a time of 19:47, after the races top two runners, from Washington and Florida State fell behind after leading for the majority of the race.

Princeton Finishers
18. Liz Costello 20:25
43. Alex Banfich 20:58
49. Sarah Cummings 21:01
57. Ashley Higginson 21:07
84. Reilly Kiernan 21:19
132. Alexa Glencer 21:45
140. Liz Deir 21:51

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