Press Release written by Mitchell Coll
NEW HAVEN, Conn --- The Wilmington University men's and women's cross country teams kicked off their season at the Philadelphia Metropolitan Cross Country Championship this past Saturday, September 10. It was highlighted by a first-place finish by freshman Vaughn Lackman, which earned him the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Runner and Rookie of the Week. In addition, freshman Camila Cornejo earned a spot on the CACC Honor Roll.
Lackman started his collegiate career with a first-place finish overall on the 8-kilometer (4.97 miles) course in a time of 28:45.40 minutes. Lackman's time had an average of a 5:48 mile pace. However, his final kick of the last 100-meters proved to be the difference as he just passed Georgian Court's Kyle Spector in time to finish .10 of a second before him to take first place.
Overall the men's cross-country team took third overall. Sophomore Dan Wyshinski continued his strong presence from the spring track season onto the course with a third-place finish. Wyshinski completed the course in 28:56.90 minutes, for an average pace of 5:51 per mile. Sophomore Trent Taylor was right behind Wyshinski with a fourth-place finish at 29:01.90, for an average pace of 5:51 per mile.
The men's side finished third overall with a score of 91. The Wildcats saw seven other CACC schools at the Philadelphia Metropolitan Cross-Country Championship, finishing third best out of the seven who attended. Jefferson was the overall winner with a score of 64, and Georgian Court took second place with a score of 73.
Freshman Camila Cornejo performed well in her first collegiate cross-country meet. Cornejo finished 13th overall in the 5-kilometer course (3.1 miles) in a time of 22:50.0 minutes for an average pace of 7:21 per mile. Cornejo finished first amongst the Wildcats, helping the team to a 5th overall finish. Freshman Taylor Burchfield and senior Alexa Crowell finished right behind Cornejo in the 5k race. Burchfield finished 15th overall with a time of 23:10.70 minutes for a pace of 7:28 per mile. Crowell finished 25th overall with a time of 23:47.60 minutes.
The women's and men's cross-country teams will travel back to Pennsylvania to partake in the Lock Haven University Invitational on Saturday, September 24. The men's cross-country team will start things off at 10:00 AM, followed by the women at 11:00 AM.