XC Opens Season at Trinity Invitational

Men's Results | Women's Results

MANCHESTER, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2011 season at the Trinity College Bantam Invitational on Saturday morning at Wickham Park.

The Mariners benefitted from several strong individual performances against competition that included teams from the Division I and II ranks. Freshman Sherif Ali turned in the best performance on the men's side, covering the five-kilometer course in a time of 17:33 to finish 19th overall in the field of 92. On the women's side, freshman Bridget Burns posted the fastest time of the day by a Mitchell runner at 21:05 on the four-kilometer course.

Ali was one of three rookies to pace the men's team, as classmates Evan Garrity and Jake Ustjanaskous also made impressive debuts. Garrity finished 49th overall in a time of 18:53 while Ustjanaskous placed 61st in 19:18. As a squad the Mariners finished in eighth place out of eight teams.

Sophomore Katie Buchanan, running in her first race for the Mariners, placed 69th overall in a time of 23:01. The Mitchell women finished seventh out of seven teams.

The University of Hartford finished atop the team standings in both the men's and women's races. Hartford's Megan Barry (16:57) was the first place finisher for the women's race while American International's Glarius Rop (15:34) placed first in the men's race.

Next up for the Mariners will be the Mitchell Invitational on Friday, September 16 at Stenger Farm Park in Waterford, CT. Races begin at 4:30 p.m.