Race Results
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—With two Gryphons placing among the league's top 10 runners, Sarah Lawrence College women's cross country closed out its 2012 season with a third-place finish at the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) Cross Country Championship on Sunday. The finish is the Gryphons' best since taking runner-up honors in 2009.

First-year runner Mary Kauffman (Marblehead, Mass., Marblehead) finished a stellar campaign by finishing in second-place overall. Her finish of 21:03 on the 5K course trailed only race-winner junior Jackie DeGrandpre (20:33) of Culinary Institute of America.

Head Coach Nephi Tyler commented that Kauffman's humility is a stark opposition from her dominance on the trail. “Mary ran impressive as always, and the team really enjoys having her as the star. She likes to shy away from recognition but it was hard for her to avoid it today.”

Kauffman's finish marks the program's best-ever individual performance at the HVWAC championship, matching a runner-up race by Erika Nicolas in 2009.

Not far behind Kauffman, rookie Pauline Stanfiel (South Bend, Ind., John Adams) clocked in at 22:53, earning her a sixth-place finish.

“Pauline ran a very gutsy race, holding on to her top-10 place the entire race. She was in a tough spot between trailing the leaders and running from the chase pack, but she ran her own race and did amazingly.”

Sophomore Elizabeth Emery (Mexico, N.Y., Mexico) was the next Gryphon across the line, taking 17th in 24:35 and improving her time from last year's championship meet by more than a minute.

In her final collegiate race, senior Taylor Zansberg (Scotch Plains, N.J./Solomon Schechter) played a critical role in Sarah Lawrence's third-place finish, she was the fourth Gryphon over the line, finishing in a personal-best 25:40.

“At the toughest point halfway into the race,” explained Tyler, “Taylor moved up half a dozen spots and set a determined racing attitude. It shook up the race in our favor and was where we found the four points we needed to clinch third place.”

Following Zansberg, sophomore Alyssa Sprague (Mexico, N.Y., Mexico) returned from a five-week absence to become Sarah Lawrence's final point-scorer, crossing the line in 25:51.

Shortly thereafter, first-year runner Katie Zimmerman (Maplewood, N.J., Columbia) finished the race in 26:08, while junior Eliza Myers (Brookline, Mass., Brookline) stopped the clock at 30:12. First-year runner Maria Snellings (Washington, D.C., Edmund Burke School) rounded out the team in a time of 36:10.

Sarah Lawrence's third-place finish improves on a fifth-place showing at the 2011 event. The Green and White took sixth in 2010 and second place in 2009.

Culinary walked away with the team championship, followed by Pratt Institute. Behind Sarah Lawrnce, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences took fourth place, while Yeshiva University, St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, College of New Rochelle and Berkeley College (N.Y.) rounded out the field; Vaughn College did not field a complete team.

All-conference teams will be announced by the league office later in the week.