W. cross country runs at Griak Invitational

Junior Cack Ferrell found her comfort zone as she and the rest of the women's cross-country team returned to her home state of Minnesota to compete in the Griak Invitational. Ferrell led the Tigers with an impressive 6th-place showing and helped Princeton earn an 11th-place finish overall. Meanwhile, the men, as well as a second women's team, were also in action this weekend, as both teams competed in the 31st annual Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, PA.

The men continued to run well, after they opened up their season two weekends ago with a victory at the Spiked Shoe Invitational, by finishing 7th overall out of a strong, 36 team field. Leading the Tigers were senior Austin Smith and junior Frank McCreery, who both finished in the top 15, at 7th (24:14) and 13th (24:26), respectively.

The rest of the runners came up big for the team as well, as all six runners finished in the top 60. Closing out the top four for Princeton was sophomore Paul Rosa who finished 27th (24:50) and freshman Frankie Tinney at 45th (25:05).

Georgetown won the meet with 103 points, just edging out Villanova. The meet consisted of strong competition, and it won't get any easier for the men in the upcoming weeks.The men will travel to the land of the Irish next Friday to race in the Notre Dame Invitational, where the competition will be just as difficult.

The women's team in Minnesota faced very difficult competition from the likes of Arizona St., Baylor and Arkansas. The Tigers still fared well however, as they just barely missed the top 10 with an 11th place finish.

Ferrell finished 45 seconds behind front-runner Kim Smith from Providence, who won the meet with an impressive time of 20:10 (The Friars also won the team competition). Ferrell's time of 20:55 was good enough for a 6th place finish. She was the only Tiger to finish in the top 40, as sophomore Mia Swenson finished 47th, junior Meredith Lambert finished 62nd and senior Carrie Strickland finished 85th to close out the top four for Princeton.

The competition was the first big event for the Tigers since previously they had only raced in a home meet against Rutgers in which they swept the top 7 spots. This meet was much more difficult however, as some top teams in the country were present.

The women will once again race at home next weekend, as they face the annual meet against rivals Yale and Harvard.