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PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. -- The Pace University Womens Cross Country entered the Baruch Invitational last weekend not knowing what to expect. The team had its opening cross-country meet -- a five-kilometer race --- washed out by Hurricane Irene. So instead of having that first meet, the young Lady Setters came into the Baruch Invitational -- a six-kilometer race -- without any background, other than practice. It did not matter, though. Brianna Cano finished second overall, leading Pace to the team title at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
We have three freshmen and one first-year cross-country runner, said Pace first-year coach and former Setter runner, Ben Ogden. Most of the girls had never run a 6K, but I am pleased they performed the way they did.
Cano, the veteran and the teams No. 1 runner, covered the course in 26 minutes and 21 seconds. Yomara Lopez finished seventh (29:30) and Katelyn Spadalik was 14th (30:38). Monica Yorio timed in at 30:51 to finish 18th and Christina Kendzor, a John F. Kennedy (Somers) graduate, clocked in at 32:34.
It was nice to see Brianna come out strong in her first meet, Ogden said. She kept her pacing good. Van Cortlandt Park is the hilliest course we will run all year and after the race, Brianna said she felt strong on the hills. Yomara has always been one of our stronger runners. She had missed a week of preseason so I wanted her to go on a seven-minute, seven-minute and 10-second pace and she did that. Katelyn is a freshman who had never run a 6K before, but she stepped up and performed very well. And Monica has not run cross country in a couple of years. Overall, it was a great first meet for the girls.
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