Race ResultsMILTON, N.Y.-Sarah Lawrence College women's cross country collected its first league trophy by finishing as runner-up at the 2015 Skyline Championship, hosted by Mount Saint Mary College at Hudson Valley Sports Dome on Sunday. The second-place finish surpasses the Gryphons' fourth-place finish in their conference debut in 2014.
IN SHORTSLC finish: 2nd - 78 points
Race distance: 5,000 meters
Total teams: 9
Total runners: 93
Winning team: St. Joseph's (L.I.) - 15 points
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONSIn preseason polling, the league's coaches had slotted Sarah Lawrence to repeat as the fourth-place team at the championship. The Gryphons surprised the league by leap-frogging Mount Saint Mary College and The Sage Colleges in Sunday's final standings.
ALL-CONFERENCE DUOSenior
Mary Kauffman (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) led the Gryphons across the line for the seventh time this season. She crossed the line in sixth place at 21:33, earning Skyline First Team All-Conference honors with her fourth top-10 finish of the season. Junior
Natalie Grieco (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Fenwick) collected back-to-back Skyline Second Team All-Conference honors with her 10th-place performance. Greico placed one spot better than last year with a season-best time of 22:02.
ROOKIES BRING DEPTHFirst year runners
Isabel Edmonds (Appleton, Wisc./Appleton North) and
Molly Walsh (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) came across the line three seconds apart. The rookies collected 21st (23:21) and 23rd (23:24) place, respectively, locking down the positions necessary to secure the Gryphons' runner-up performance. Neither time was a season best, but both Gryphons were well ahead of their pace during their previous run on the course on October 3.
MAKING IT OFFICIALWith the fifth and final scoring position, the Gryphons needed one more finisher among the top 60 runners overall. In fact, SLC ended up with three harriers in the necessary position. Sophomore
Tiffany Meier (Goleta, Calif./Olive Grove Charter) secured the critical fifth position in 23:45, good for 27th overall. Her run was 42 seconds faster than her previous outing on the championship course.
Rookie
Katherine Labadie (New Orleans, La./Benjamin Franklin) and junior
Allyson Panton (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) occupied the elusive "displacer" positions, giving the Gryphons further control of their position on the leaderboard. Labadie took 50th overall with a time of 25:23, and Panton finished 55th overall in 25:29. Sophomore
Danielle Dyen-Shapiro (Estero, Fla./Cypress Lake) broke the 30-minute mark for the second time in her career, stopping the clock at 29:57 in 80th position.
UP NEXTSarah Lawrence will have a tune-up race on Sunday, Nov. 8, at the NJIT Russo Classic. The Gryphons round out the season at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Championship on November 14.
