October 17, 2009
Greensboro, NC- The Salem College cross country team finished in 6th place out of 12 teams at the Guilford College Quaker Invitational 8 kilometer race this morning. The team had 8 personal records and 1 season best in the meet. Julie Piernikowski (Potomac, MD) finished first for the Spirits and 27th overall with her personal record run (26:07.5).
Salem beat five division three schools and one NAIA school. The team's top five runners averaged a time of 27:46 on the course. Emory University was the overall winner of the race. Stephanie Mendez (Atlanta, GA) ran her personal best race (27:44), and finished 44th overall. This was the first time that she finished in the second spot for Salem.
Julie Bigsby (Salisbury, NC) finished in 3rd for the Spirits and 48th overall (27:48), and she also ran her personal best. Lauren Meek (Draper, VA) had a season best 8k race, and finished 53rd overall (28:08). Emily Abel (Otto, NC) rounded out the scorers for Salem in 62nd (29:04).
The team has a couple weeks off before they head to LaGrange College for the GSAC Championships on November 7th.