Lancer Pink Invitational dominated by Longwood cross county

Published 10:27 pm Saturday, September 16, 2023

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FARMVILLE – Longwood cross country has made it a habit of running well at the Lancer Pink Invitational over the past two years, and year three of the event was no different.

Jordyn Dillavou won the race outright on the men’s side while crushing the team course record, and Priscilla Keller led a women’s side that had some heroic performances down the lineup despite being shorthanded.

After the two races, the Lancers also hosted a fun run/walk as a fundraiser for the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, and the team raised more than $3,460, surpassing the goal of $3,000. Over the past three seasons, the team has raised more than $7,000 as part of the Lancer Pink Fun Run/Walk.

Lancer Pink Invitational Results:

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Men’s 8K
Team

  1. Longwood: 1-2-3-5-6(7)(8)—17
  2. Mary Washington: 4-12-13-16-19(22)(23)—64
  3. Southern Virginia: 10-11-15-20-21(26)(27)—77
  4. Hampden-Sydney: 9-14-17-18-24(25)(28)—82

Individual

  1. Jordyn Dillavou: 26:02.5
  2. Benjamin Goulet: 26:28.7
  3. Clinton Clancy: 26:38.3
  4. Andrew Schaefer: 27:40.3
  5. Ethan Pettyjohn: 27:41.5
  6. Alec Daniel: 27:45.6
  7. Marcus Sosa: 27:47.7
  8. Misha Wiley: 27:50.6
  9. Saad Khan: 28:03.3
  10. Sam Sager: 28:23.8
  11. Javier Roldan: 28:33.2
  12. Christian Reid: 28:44.6
  13. Avery Brown: 28:57.5
  14. Bryce Christian: 29:47.9
  15. Andrew Bernhardt: 30:21.0

 Women’s 5K
Team

  1. Longwood: 1-2-3-5-9(10)(13)
  2. Mary Washington: 6-8-12-14-15(16)(17)
  3. Sweet Briar: 4-7-11-18-19(20)(21)

Individual

  1. Priscilla Keller: 19:40.2
  2. Caroline Fairbanks: 20:00.1
  3. Haley Slattery: 20:13.8
  4. Kathryn Oylear: 21:08.1
  5. Lauren Vick: 22:07.7
  6. Bailey Deaver: 22:15.6
  7. Aislinn Garcia: 22:52.1
  8. Kiersten Witte: 23:24.2
  9. Kai Wheeler: 23:49.1
  10. Caroline Fritz: 24:35.6
  11. Caroline Layne: 26:50.6

 How it happened

 The men ran first, and the Lancers swept the top of the podium with a 1-2-3 finish. In addition, plenty of other runners set personal bests as well.

On the tough Lancer home course, Dillavou posted the fourth fastest 8K time in program history at 26:02, which also ranks as the fastest time at the Lancer Pink in its three-year existence.

Ben Goulet wasn’t far off, and he was only nine seconds from cracking the program’s top 10 times, with Clinton Clancy behind him by 10 more seconds.

Both Andrew Schaefer and Ethan Pettyjohn rounded out the Lancer scoring group with strong efforts. For Schaefer, it was a personal best in the 8K and his first time in competition running under 28 minutes.

Alec Daniel, Misha Wiley, Javier Roldan and Bryce Christian all were returners who also set personal bests.

The Lancer women ran second on the day, and the team placed three runners in the top four overall and five of the first seven, with the race winner, Ashley Palmer, unattached.

Keller, for a second straight race, paced the Lancers. She clocked a 19:40.2 on the difficult course. Caroline Fairbanks and Haley Slattery rounded out the top three for Longwood.

Kathryn Oylear crushed it. With the team down two of their top five runners, she stepped up with her personal best time, posting a 21:08.1 to finish seventh overall.

Lauren Vick also ran her best race as a Lancer, with her time of 22:07.7 marking her fastest race 5K. She was the team’s fifth and final counting score.

Caroline Fritz and Caroline Layne also set personal bests.

Following the race, the Lancers also honored their seniors who had run on the course in competition for the final time. The seniors were Sam Sager on the men’s side and Bailey Deaver, Fairbanks, Fritz, Aislinn Garcia, Oylear and Kiersten Witte.

Lancer Pink Invitational a good indicator

“Today was a good indicator to where the programs are headed,” said Longwood Head Coach Brooke Craig. “Jordyn led our men to some of their best times on this course. We had a ton with personal bests for the course and overall.”

“On the women’s side, we had a strong showing despite the squad not being at full capacity,” Craig added. “We had a lot of girls step up to secure the win at home.”

“The depth on the team is really starting to show, and I’m excited to see what they do in the second half of the season,” Craig said.

“This senior class has been with us from the beginning of this build,” Craig said about honoring the seniors following the race. “They have been responsible for building the foundation for where the program is headed.”

What’s up next?

The two teams are headed to the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh, on Saturday, September 30, with the team’s top runners. The team will also have a cohort race at the Sweet Briar XC 5K on the same date.