Salem Cross Country Concludes Regular Season at Vertcross Invitational

Posted: Oct 17, 2019

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem cross country team, which has four Top-10 finishes this season, wraps up the 2019 regular season on Friday, Oct. 18, when the Spirits head to nearby Kernersville, N.C., to compete in the VertCross Invitational, hosted by High Point University.

The 6k race will take part at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex beginning at 4:30 p.m. The park opened in 2001, originally under the name Beeson Road Park until it's renaming in January 2013, and currently consists of 103 acres. It is the home to the Kernersville Soccer Association, along with adult softball leagues, youth soccer leagues, high school cross country championships and collegiate cross country competitions.

Salem is one of 24 teams taking part in the event, which includes numerous NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III institutions from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Among the NCAA Division III teams competing include Guilford, Hollins, King, Roanoke, William Peace and the Spirits.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPIRITS: Salem's Jessica Bailey came through with her third Top-10 finish of the season by crossing the line seventh, in a time of 22:08.70, at the Livingstone Invitational in Salisbury, N.C., on Friday, Oct. 11.

Bailey has now rattled off three straight Top-10 outings, after finishing fifth in the USA South Preview (Sept. 21) and third at the Greensboro XC Invitational (Sept. 28). Her seventh-place performance on Friday was instrumental in helping the Spirits to a seventh-place team performance in the 11-team event.

Maria Ferrer posted the second-best time (27:46.10) for the Spirits, closing in 45th, with Lupita Uribe finishing just over five seconds later (27:51.89) in 46th.

RoyseAnn Day capped off the race in 58th for Salem, recording a time of 30:05.24, edging out Mariana Rubio, who closed in 69th with a time of 32:29.41. Teammates Isabella Verdicchio (34:49.72) and Barbara Gonzalez Lara (35:49.94) wrapped up the race in 75th and 78th, respectively.

For more information on Salem cross country check out www.salemspirits.com.