Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Heptagonals
Players Mentioned
Women's XC Wins Fifth Consecutive Heps Title; Banfich Takes First
October 29, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
NEW YORK (10/29/10) - The Princeton women's cross country team won its fifth straight Ivy League Heptagonal Championship on Friday, Oct. 29 at Van Cortlandt Park. This is the Tigers' eighth overall title.
Junior Alex Banfich won the individual title with the second fastest time in Heps history, clocking in at 16:58.9. She joins former teammate Liz Costello '10 as the only runners to finish the race in under 17 minutes. Costello holds the record at 16:55.7 setting it last season.
All five scorers finished in the top 11 of the race to post a team score of 33.
Senior Ashley Higginson captured fourth place with a time of 17:27.1. Sophomore Mel Newbery ran 17:45.7 in her first Heps for eighth place with senior Sarah Cummings coming in right behind her at 17:49.2. Sophomore Abby Levene was the fifth Tiger across the line at 17:52.2 to take 11th in her first time at Heps. All five runners were named to the All-Ivy League team.Columbia was second with 60 points, propelled by the second and third finishers of the race. Brown was third with 63 points, followed by Cornell with 98, Harvard with 121, Penn with 168, Dartmouth with 177 and Yale with 182.
Princeton, ranked No. 18, will compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13. A first or second place team finish guarantees the Tigers an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Princeton Finishers1. Alex Banfich 16:58.9
4. Ashley Higginson 17:27.1
8. Mel Newbery 17:45.7
9. Sarah Cummings 17:45.7
11. Abby Levene 17:50.0
34. Katie Skinner 18:22.1
42. Alexis Mikaelian 18:29.9
51. Theresa Devine 18:38.4
67. Lauren Zumbach 18:57.3
78. Greta Feldman 19:21.0
84. Clare Gallagher 19:41.4
93. Brooke Russell 20:23.5
2010 Women's Cross Country All-Ivy
First Team
Alex Banfich, Princeton, JR
Caroline McDonough, Columbia, SO
Jackie Drouin, Columbia, SR
Ashley Higginson, Princeton, SR
Margaret Connelly, Brown, FR
Jeanne Mack, Harvard, SO
Devin McMahon, Cornell, FR
Second Team
Mel Newbery, Princeton, JR
Sarah Cummings, Princeton, SR
Lauren Pischel, Brown, SR
Abby Levene, Princeton, SO
Elaine Kuckertz, Brown, SO
Leslie Kovach, Penn, SO
Nicole Cochran, Harvard, JR