St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
National Catholic Championships
Red Storm Cracks Top 25 At National Catholic Championships
9/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 17, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - In its first time competing at the National Catholic Championships in four years, the Red Storm's great team effort helped St. John's crack the top 25 with a 23rd place finish in Notre Dame, Ind.
St. John's competed against the top Catholic institutions in the nation, earning 650 points with seven athletes competing, four being freshmen.
"Our team competed well," remarked head coach Jim Hurt. "We got some big time meet experience which is what we were looking for. This meet worked especially well for our freshmen who now have the experience that will help us in the championships later in the season."
The Red Storm got a look at some of its future BIG EAST competition as Notre Dame and DePaul finished in the top 5 with 23 points and 161 points, respectively. St. John's defeated Seton Hall by two places and 15 points.
Rookie Sarah Sudbury, from Tomahawk, Wis., led the Red Storm runners in her second straight race with a 70th place time of 19:46.
Sophomores Pam Petruski and Sarah Fry coupled up to finish 139th and 140th with a time of 20:32.
Paring off behind the sophomores were freshmen Lori Dougherty and Shakira Best who finished 173rd and 174th, respectively.
Freshman Laura Walsh finished 205th with a time of 21:27 and junior Rakibat Abiola came in at 22:09 for a 244th place finish.
Up next, the Red Storm will travel to Fairfield, Conn., to compete at the Fairfield Invite on Sept. 29. Meet time starts at 11 a.m.
"We are looking forward to coming back and competing at the Fairfield Invite," said Hurt. "It will give us a chance to get another competitive meet in before the championships start in October. Right now we have a solid two weeks to prepare."
For the most up-to-date information on St. John's athletics please visit www.RedStormSports.com or call our hotline at 1-888-GO-STORM.
National Catholic Championship Results:
Sarah Sudbury 19:46 (70)
Pam Petruski 20:32 (139)
Sarah Fry 20:32 (140)
Lori Dougherty 20:58 (173)
Shakira Best 20:59 (174)
Laura Walsh 21:27 (205)
Rakibat Abiola 22:09 (244)
Players Mentioned
