NEWTON, N.C. - With four runners capturing top-10 finishes, the Anderson University women's cross country team finished second at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational, Saturday morning at Southside Park.
"The girls ran really well as a team," said Anderson head coach Randy Greer. "This was probably the best they've run since the Royals Twilight."
The 5k event saw Appalachian State edge the Trojans for the top spot, while the host Bears finished third. Lee-McRae was fourth, with Mars Hill taking fifth, Catawba sixth and Tusculum rounded out the seven-team field.
Freshman Haylee Love slashed more than two minutes off her career-best time to pace the Trojans with a third-place effort in a time of 19:13.68. Fellow freshman Alex Dixon (19:23.08) was just behind in fourth, while sophomore Olivia Gardner brought home sixth place with a time of 19:25.37. Senior Sydney Hazel (19:45.50) crossed the line in 10th, with sophomore Bari Robinson placing 14th in a time of 20:01.73. Classmate Mia Swiersz also notched a personal-best time of 20:15.31 to claim the 17th spot.
Freshman Allison Halperin set a season-best time of 20:38.55 and crossed the line in 19th, while sophomore Amber Worthy (20:46.56) finished 22nd. Sophomore Grace Gerlock posted a time of 21:13.14 to claim 28th and freshman Taylor Morris took 31st with a time of 21:22.16
Anderson will be back in action on Nov. 8 at the South Atlantic Conference Championships in Salisbury, N.C.
