October 4, 2008

Greensboro, NC-The Salem College cross country team and Rachel Fichthorn (Nokesville, VA) continued their domination of North Carolina NCAA Division III teams today at the Hagan Stone Classic in Greensboro. Fichthorn finished second out of 75 total runners, and the team came in 4th place out of 16 teams. Salem was the first place North Carolina team running the 5k course.

Fichthorn ran the 5k course in 20:12. The overall winner was Brittany Killough from UVA-Wise a NAIA school. Two other Salem runners finished in the top 12. Lauren Meek (Draper, VA) finished in 10th with a time of 22:19. Julie Piernikowski (Potomac, MD) came in five seconds behind Meek and was in 12th place. The race consisted of NCAA DII, DIII and NAIA schools, and Bridgewater College was the only DIII school in front of Salem.

“Five out of our seven harriers had a great race, either running a seasonal or career best for the 5000 meters," said Head Coach J.P. Widner. "Rachel placing second in this huge race was a phenomenal achievement. Lauren had a seasonal best, while Julie ran a career best as both of them finished in the top 12. Jessi Martinez improved her 5K time by 39 seconds. We look forward to having next weekend off as we prepare to defend our North Carolina NCAA Division III Championship title.”

Salem returns in two weeks as they head to Raleigh for the Old North State Championships on October 18th.