Freshman Jackie Solimine (Haverhill, Mass.) continued to impress finishing tenth in a field of 56 runners as the UMass Lowell women's cross country team finished fifth in a field of five at the American East Pre Conference Meet on the campus of Binghamton University in Vestal, N. Y.
"She's tough, she likes to compete," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "We tell her not to put limitations on herself. She's going to be one of the better runners in the conference."
Solimine finished the 3.1 mile course in a time of 19-minutes and 15-seconds.
The University of Albany won the event placing five runners in the top nine spot and finishing with 28 points (1, 3, 7, 8, 9 – 12, 16).
Albany senior Brittany Lane took the individual title with a time of 18:13.4.
Vermont, three points back, finished second (2, 4, 5, 6, 14 – 19, 21). The University of Maryland Baltimore County was third with 82 points (11, 13, 15, 20, 23 – 25, 28). The host school, Binghamton, finished fourth with 114 points (17, 18, 24, 26, 29 – 32, 34).
UMass Lowell finished with 120 points (10, 22, 27, 30, 31 – 33, 35). The group of seven included three freshman and two sophomores.
"We ran well as a team," said Gardner. "We could be in good shape come November. Experience makes a big difference, but for the moment ignorance is bliss."
Senior Gina Butler (Dracut, Mass.) was second among River Hawk runners finishing 22nd among scoring competitors with a time of 19:45.9. Freshman Erin Donovan (Lowell, Mass.) finished 27th, 19:58.5. Senior Bridget Meehan (Nashua, N. H.) crossed the finish line in a time of 20:52.3 good enough for 30th place. Freshman Jennifer Pisarik (Chelmsford, Mass.) was the final scoring runner for the River Hawks earning a time of 21:04.4 to finish 31st.
The River Hawks are off for a couple of weeks before competing, September 21, in the Iona College Meet of Champions in New Rochelle, N. Y.
