Franklin Pierce women's cross country

Women’s Cross Country Notches Top-10 at UMass Dartmouth Invitational

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (September 15, 2018) – Sophomore Marissa Farago (Salisbury, Mass.) chalked up a top-50 finish in a 318-runner field on Saturday, to lead the way for the Franklin Pierce University women's cross country team. The Ravens were able to put five among the top 125 finishers, which allowed the team to post a 10th-place finish in the 45-team meet.

Farago completed the 5k course in 19:38.1 to finish in 42nd place. She was followed in the top-100 by junior Julia Cormier (Northwood, N.H.), who finished 63rd, with a time of 19:58.0.

Just outside the top-100, freshman Alana Thompson (Westampton, N.J.) ran a time of 20:35.2 to finish 111th, while junior Rebecca Zylak (Goffstown, N.H.) placed 120th, with a mark of 20:38.4. Sophomore Daijanique White (Hartford, Conn.) rounded out Franklin Pierce's scoring five with a run of 20:41.5 to place 12th.

It all added up to 448 points and a 10th-place finish for the Ravens, who finished second among Division II entrants. Brandeis (56 points) took home the team title by a margin of 49 points over Trinity (105 points). Merrimack followed closely behind in third (107 points), while Worcester Polytechnic Institute (127 points) and Wellesley (225 points) rounded out the top five.

"This was one of the best races we've had in program history, beating top-10 regionally ranked programs in American International, Southern New Hampshire and Bentley," said head coach Zach Emerson after the meet. "I'm excited to see what these ladies can accomplish these next two months."

After an off week, the Ravens return to action on Friday, Sept. 28, when they travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).