Williams: Women's XC takes title at Purple Valley Classic

September 22, 2012
Women's XC takes title at Purple Valley Classic

Brianne Mirecki '14 WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Twenty-one women's teams competed at this years Purple Valley Classic hosted by Williams College. Middlebury's Addie Tousley won the Varsity 6k in 21:50 leading her team to a third place finish (87pts). Williams took the title defeating second place MIT, 78pts to 83pts.


The Purple Valley Classic is always one of the most competitive early season meets in the region, this year was no exception with 3 of the top 10 ranked womens teams in the nation competing (according to the most recent national USTFCCCA rankings). Teams like Oberlin College and Ohio Northern University traveled almost 600 miles to compete, making this year's Classic also one of the most geographically diverse.

The first race of the day was the JV 5k which kicked of at 11:30am. Williams' first-year Kathryn McNaughton took first in a time of 20:57 on the hilly 5k course. Williams also took the team title with 47 pts over Colby with 61 pts. This race was a testament to Williams talented freshman class, with 4 of 5 scorers being first-years.

The varsity 6k shaped up to be a close individual and team competition. Four of the top nine nationally ranked individuals competed, including Amherst's Keri Lambert who won last year's competition and Middlebury's Addie Tousley who was runner up. The course had dried out completely after the heavy rains earlier in the week and the weather was slightly overcast and mild resulting in fast times all around. After Lambert lead for most of the race, Tousley out-kicked her in the final 200m for the individual title in a time of 21:50. Lambert was just 5 seconds behind in 21:55, which is still 5 seconds faster than her winning time last year. Alison Steinbrunner from Ohio Northern took third individually in 22:12.


Williams top finishers were Junior Brianne Mirecki and sophomore Adrienne Strait (The College Preparatory School, Oakland) who both crossed the line in 22:54, for tenth and eleventh respectively. Sophomore Amelia Ortiz was third for the team in 15th (23:03), followed by Junior Kaleigh Kenny just one second behind in 16th (23:04). Rounding out the scoring was Junior Shayna Barbash in 26th place (23:22). The team race was extremely tight this year with the top three teams all coming within 9 pts of each other. Middlebury took third with 87pts behind MIT with 83pts. Williams took the title in 78pts.

Head coach Pete Farwell reflected on the whole day by saying, "Overall, I think the team executed the race plan well, holding back a little in this early season meet and taking advantage of pack running." Victory aside, he thinks the team looks strong at this point in the season and was excited by the depth of the team especially towards the front. Williams Cross-Country will celebrate its 100th anniversary with next weeks alumni race that some of the team will compete in. Most of the top runners, however, will train through this week in preparation for Div. I New Englands at Westfield State on October 7th.

Full Results: http://www.finishright.com/XC/12/WILLIAMSXC12.htm

WILLIAMS COLLEGE INVITE - 9/22/2012
TIMING BY FINISHRIGHT.COM
MT GRAYLOCK , HS, MASS

Event 2 Women 6k Run CC
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Name Year School Avg Mile Finals Points
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1 #541 Tousley, Addie SR Middlebury 5:52 21:50 1
2 #480 Lambert, Keri SR Amherst 5:53 21:55 2
3 #433 Steinbrunner, Aliso SR Ohio Norther 5:58 22:12 3
4 #563 Quinn, Sarah FR Mit 6:02 22:30 4
5 #537 Rominger, Katie JR Middlebury 6:04 22:35 5
6 #436 Weaver, Lydia SR Ohio Norther 6:05 22:39 6
7 #438 Arsenault, Anisa JR Fordham 6:07 22:46 7
8 #555 Johnson, Brooke SR Mit 6:08 22:49 8
9 #579 Neal, Lindsay SO Oberlin College 6:08 22:52 9
10 #21 Mirecki, Brianne JR Williams 6:09 22:54 10
11 #31 Strait, Adrienne SO Williams 6:09 22:54 11

Courtesy Williams

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California State Meet
Div 5 Girls 5K Run
Place Name Yr Team Time
===== ================================ == ======================== =======
1 Lucy McCullough SR Marin Academy 18:13
2 Annie Mooney SR Mission College Prep 18:24
3 Bridget Blum JR San Francisco Univ 18:25
4 Jaye Buchbinder SR Chadwick 18:49
5 Julia Maxwell FR Branson 18:52
6 Liza Currin SO Vistamar 18:53
7 Katy Lee SO Sonoma Academy 18:53
8 Emma Lehmann SR Urban School Of Sf 18:57
9 Alexia Velarde JR Marywood (p V) 19:01
10 Caitlin Iglehart SR Urban School Of Sf 19:07
11 Sophie Currin SO Vistamar 19:10
12 Karina Castaneda SR Xavier College Prep 19:15
13 Melanie Reimer SO Thacher 19:17
14 Adrienne Strait SR College Preparatory 19:17