MECHANICSVILLE — William & Mary women’s cross country started the 2023 campaign strong on Saturday morning at Pole Green Park. Running on the same course that will host the CAA Championships in October, the Tribe finished second in a 16-team field at the Spider Alumni Open and in the process upset No. 11 Georgetown.
No. 11 Virginia was team champion with a score of 29, while the Tribe edged the Hoyas by a point, 75-76, over the 4K course. Richmond rounded out the top four with 86 points. The Tribe, ranked No. 14 in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region to start the season, also topped Southeast Region No. 15 George Mason, who finished sixth.
W&M placed two runners in the top 10 and six among the top 30 at the event. Sophomore Sofia Istnick led the way for the Green and Gold, covering the 4K course in 13:43.2 to finish fourth. Junior Arianna DeBoer was not far behind, finishing ninth in the time of 14:01.8.
Sophomore Kelly Ann Sutterfield was the third Tribe runner to cross the line, placing 17th in a time of 14:23.9. Junior Lucy Young, graduate student Heidi Fortin and senior Emily Sell rounded out the Tribe’s top 30 performers in 21st, 25th and 29th, respectively. Young finished in a time of 14:28.9.
Fortin, a graduate transfer from The Citadel, secured the Tribe’s narrow margin in second place in the team standings. As the Tribe’s fifth runner, she out raced Delaware’s Danielle Eshelman and Georgetown’s Julia Trethaway to the line to provide the slim margin. Fortin ran a 14:37.2, just hedging Eshelman by 0.5 and Trethaway by 0.7 seconds.
Up Next
The Tribe returns to action in two weeks, competing at the adidas XC Challenge in Raleigh, N.C., and the CNU XC Invitational in Newport News, Va. Both events will be on Friday, Sept. 15.
Spider Alumni Open 4K
Mechanicsville, Va. (Pole Green Park)
Team Results
1. #11 Virginia 29
2. William & Mary 75
3. #11 Georgetown 76
4. Richmond 86
5. Delaware 144
6. George Mason 165
7. VCU 210
8. American 214
9. Longwood 287
10. James Madison 324
11. VMI 340
12. Christopher Newport 361
13. Hampton 364
14. Mary Washington 443
15. St. Mary’s (Md.) 453
16. Bowie State 506
Top 5
1. Caroline Timm (UVA) 13:29.5
2. Gillian Bushee (UVA) 13:32.1
3. Elizabeth Stockman (UR) 13:35. 6
4. Sofia Istnick (W&M) 13:43.2
5. Lauren Tunnell (VCU) 13:45.5
W&M Results
4. Sofia Istnick 13:43.2
9. Arianna DeBoer 14:01.8
17. Kelly Ann Sutterfield 14:23.9
21. Lucy Young 14:28.9
25. Heidi Fortin 14:37.2
29. Emily Sell 14:39.4
41. Molly Coyle 15:03.6
43. Annika Griggs 15:09.5
54. Tessa Dobrinski 15:24.4
69. Paige Dumont 15:43.6
72. Jenny Gerson 15:51.1
81. Emily Morris 16:04.2
92. Olivia Haller 16:18.9
