Press Release written by Mitchell Coll
SALISBURY, Md. - - The Wilmington University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 34th Annual Don Cathcart Invitational hosted by Salisbury University on Saturday afternoon.
On the women's side, the Wildcats finished fifth out of nine teams on the 6K course. Freshman Taylor Burchfield led the way for the 'Cats, as Burchfield was first to cross the line for the Wildcats. Burchfield finished in 15th place overall out of 83 with a total time of 24:23.9 and an average pace of 4:04 per kilometer. Freshmen Camila Cornejo crossed the finished line just after Burchfield at 25:13.3 and averaged a 4:12 per kilometer pace. Cornejo's performance earned her a 26th overall finish.
Senior Alexa Crowell came seconds off Cornejo's finishing time, as Crowell clocked a 25:30.2 time and a 4:15 average pace per kilometer. Crowell finished 31st overall. Tiffany Banning and Samantha Banning finished next for the Wildcats. Tiffany Banning finished 35th overall with a time of 25:36.9, and Samantha Banning finished in 56th place with a time of 28:34.30.
As a team, the Wildcats collected 125 points. The 34th Annual Don Cathcart Invitational winner was Division III Salisbury University with 38 points.
On the men's side, the Wildcats finished third overall out of 11 teams thanks to three top 20 finishes on the 8K course. Freshman Trent Taylor led the way today as Taylor turned in a time of 26:26.3, which earned him 7th overall out of 87 runners. Taylor held a 3:18 average pace per kilometer. Freshman Vaughn Lackman was not far off from Taylor as Lackman finished 9th overall with a total time of 26:40.5 for a 3:20 pace per kilometer.
Sophomore Dan Wyshinski held a 3:26-kilometer pace to finish with a time of 27:28.1 and earned 17th place. Sophomore Hayward Boutte Jr. finished 35th overall with a time of 28:58.0 and a 3:37 kilometer average. Nicholas Licup finished 67th overall with a finishing time of 32:26.4.
As a team, the Wildcats collected 116 points. The 34th Annual Don Cathcart Invitational winner was Salisbury University with 22 points.
The Wildcats will be local for the next race as they will partake in the University of Delaware's Delaware Invitational on Saturday, October 15. The women will start at 9:30, followed by the men at 10:15.