September 5, 2009

Spartanburg, SC- The Salem College cross country team competed in their first meet of the season at the Eye Opener Meet hosted by USC-Upstate. Salem competed in the College Women Division II (5K) race with nine NCAA Division II schools, a NAIA school, and a junior college. Julie Piernikowski (Potomac, MD) finished in the first spot for Salem, and 40th overall in the race (22:31). Five Salem runners ran their personal records in the meet.

Lauren Meek (Draper, VA) was the second overall runner for the Spirits, and finished 50th in the division II race. Julie Bigsby (Salisbury, NC) ran in her first race for two years for the Spirits, and was their third overall runner. She ran a personal record (23:47), and finished 61st. Emily Abel (Otto, NC) and Stephanie Mendez (Atlanta, GA) each ran in their first collegiate meet, and finished in the top five for the Spirits. Abel ran a personal record (24:08), and Mendez was ten seconds behind.

Catherine Mixon (Simpsonville, SC), Kaycee Ingram (Mt. Ulla, NC), and Esther Mueller (Kernersville, NC) also ran personal records for Salem in the meet. Carrie Nelson from King College was the division II race overall winner (19:08), and King College also won the race. Salem returns to action next weekend when they host the 2009 Salem College Invitational. The college women's race will be at 9:45 am on September 12th. 

Complete Race Results:

http://upstatespartans.cstv.com/sports/c-xc/recaps/090509aaa.html