The top five women's cross country runners for the Gryphons at the Purchase Invitational this Saturday, September 10, had strong finishes that impressed their coach not only with their speed but with their ability to push each other both in this race and the practices leading up to it. The men's team also had strong finishes while learning the ropes at the 8K race.

The top finisher for the Gryphons women's team was Sarah Janosky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh CAPA) at 44^th place with a time of 26:42 in the 6K. On her heels was Taylor Zansberg (Scotch Plains, N.J./Solomon Schechter) at 45^th place with a time of 26:44. Finishing at 45^th, 47^th and 54^th were teammates Elizabeth Emory, Nina Sparing and Grace Poudier respectively.

“Our top five scoring runners were all very close together which is a very positive team result,” Head Coach Lindsey Scherf said following Saturday's race. “They worked hard and are getting stronger week to week.”

“They will achieve ever-stronger performances as the season progresses,” she said.

In the men's side, Rob Cook came in first for Sarah Lawrence at 37^th Place in the 8K, with a time of 34:25. Asher Morse (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) came in 61^st place with a time of 38:28. Moshe Maizels (Silver Springs, Md./Thomas S. Wooton) came in just behind him at 64^th place with a time of 40:02.

Scherf said of the men's race, “They had a real learning experience in the 8K distance. For moany of them it was their first time racing that distance and not only did they perform very well but they'll also just get faster from here on out.”