Talented Freshmen Lead Gulls To Sixth Place Finish At RWU Invitational

BRISTOL, R.I.- The Endicott women's cross country team got off to a solid start for the 2015 season on Saturday as they raced to a sixth place finish in the 15 team field at the Roger Williams Invitational.

The Gulls were led by freshman Abigail Keim (Williston, Vt.) who finished 33rd overall in her first collegiate race in a time of 21:14.81 on the 5k course. Her finish earned the team 28 points for the team standings in the field of 196 runners.

Fellow freshman Samantha Pearl (Concord, N.H.) crossed the line just under 14-seconds later in a time of 21:28.76 to finish in 40th place, and earning 34 points.

Junior Kiera Malone (Woburn, Mass.) ran a strong race, crossing in 21:32.38 to finish 44th overall. Her finish received 38 points towards the team score while classmate Kelly O'Neill (Cumberland, R.I.) crossed in 54th place with a time of 21:41.81. Maeve Kelly (Washingtonville, N.Y.), running in her first collegiate race, crossed in a time of 21:56.80 to close out Endicott's top-5 in 58th place.

INSIDE THE TIMES

• Three of the top-five times for the Gulls belonged to first-year runners, the most in any race for the Endicott women since 2012.
• Endicott finished just three spots back of Salve Regina, the only Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) squad to best the Gulls as Gordon and Roger Williams finished eighth and 10th, respectively.

TOP QUOTE

"The top-5 all were very close together and show a lot of promise of improvement," stated head coach Spencer Lange. "Everyone battled through the heat and ran a smart race. The leaders were patient at the start and worked their way up and it was encouraging to see everyone in high spirits and ready to continue improving."