HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's cross country team competed in the three-mile Main Line Invitational at home on Friday afternoon, taking advantage of a perfect day for racing at the Alumni Cross Country Course. In addition to rival Swarthmore and conference foe Muhlenberg, the event also featured Division I entrants Villanova, Penn, and LaSalle, along with Metro Region competition Stockton and the Mid-Atlantic's Elizabethtown. The Fords finished seventh overall in the team scoring.
Sophomore Katie Hirsche placed fifth overall to lead the Fords as the top Division III finisher on the day. Hirsche finished the three-mile course in 17:57.5, well clear of Melissa Fitzgibbon of Elizabethtown, the next Division III finisher. Fitzgibbon crossed in 13th with a time of 18:34.3. Hirsche was just short of her personal best in the three-mile set at last year's invite (17:56.7) but was in strong company all race long, besting All-Big East track & field performer Madison Martinez of Villanova by almost two seconds to earn placement in the top five.
The next Haverford runner to toe the line was Dominique Monroy, as the sophomore crossed the finish stripe in 20:08.2, a new personal best. Just behind Monroy was classmate Krysta Nichols, as Nichols completed the race in 20:12, also a personal best. Jessie Hausman made her debut mark with a top 50 showing, crossing in 46th (20:52.6) and Carly Priest did the same with a mark just outside of the top 50 finishers, clocking a 52nd-place showing (21:13.8).
First year Sophia Furman (59th, 21:45.3) and senior co-captain Annemarie Wood (60th, 21:50.7) crossed in succession to round out the top seven for Haverford. Senior co-captain Hedy Goodman was next to finish for Haverford in 22:18.6, taking 64th, while senior Kristen Min (66th, 22:26.0) rounded out the Haverford contingent.
The women's cross country team will next be in action at the Paul Short Run on Friday, September 30. The multi-race carnival, hosted by Lehigh, is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. as the Fords participate in one of the largest annual cross country events on the East Coast.