XC Opens Season at Mitchell Invitational

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2018 season by hosting the Mitchell Invitational on Saturday morning.

Utica College bested the field of five teams to win both the women's and men's 5k races. The Mitchell women placed fourth overall while the men finished fifth.

The first nine runners to cross the finish line in the women's event were all from Utica. Kaitlyn Stinson won the race in a time of 19:15.5, besting her teammate Renee Lewis by more than 21 seconds.

Kate McCormack paced the Mariners with a time of 22:41.6 to finish 13th overall. A trio of newcomers—Sharmaine Gregor, Grace Burns and Paige Aguilar—were the next Mitchell runners to cross the finish, with Francesca Pinard completing the team scoring.

Utica took the top eight spots in the men's race with a duel between teammates Mitchell Marlow and Tyler Wright for the fastest time. Marlow edged Wright at the tape to claim first place in a time of 16:28.8.

Mitchell's David Still was the first runner from another school to cross the finish. He outsprinted Newbury's Geralson Withrow in the final 200 meters to finish ninth overall in 17:21.8.

Mitchell's Mark Garceau also supplied a strong performance in his collegiate debut, finishing 12th overall in a time of 17:54.0.

Mitchell will next compete at the Blazer Classic Invitational on Saturday, September 22.