Appleton Leads Virginia to a Win, Men Finish Second at Spider Alumni Open
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Thanks to a strong pace set by a pair of Virginia second-years, Margot Appleton and Jack Eliason, the Cavalier women opened up their season with a victory while the men finished as runners-up at the Spider Alumni Open on Saturday morning (Sept. 3) in Richmond Va.
After commanding the pace of the race throughout the women’s 4,000-meter Pole Green Park circuit, Margot Appleton approached the finish line in a dead heat with Georgetown’s Grace Jensen. With one final surge Appleton crossed the finish line with a time of 13:23.4, just one-tenth of a second ahead of Jensen.
In their Virginia debuts, Camryn Menninger (13:24.6) and Esther Seeland (13:29.9) placed third and fourth respectively while Anna Workman and Linnaea Kavulich rounded out the scoring positions in sixth and eighth place.
On the men’s side, a Virginia duo at the front of the pack with Jacob Hunter and Justin Wachtel led through the majority of the men’s 6k race. As the runners approached the finish line, it was Jack Eliason took home a third-place finish with a time of 17:32.8. Hunter and Wachtel rounded out the scoring positions at sixth and eighth place respectively.
From Director of Track and Cross Country, Vin Lananna
“It was a great showing today winning our first collegiate race on the women’s side. I think we have way more to come with the women once we put our lineup together. For the men, Jack, Jacob and Justin all had good performances today so we are excited about what we can do once we put all put together our full team.”
Spider Alumni Open
Pole Green Park
Richmond, Va.
Women’s Team Results (4k)
- Virginia – 22
- Georgetown – 50
- Richmond – 78
- James Madison – 103
- Davidson – 149
- George Mason – 165
- VCU – 202
- Christopher Newport – 256
- Hampton – 298
- VMI – 332
- Morgan State – 338
- Virginia State – 341
- Mary’s (Md.) – 349
- Mary Washington – 383
- Virginia Union – 475
Men’s Team Results (6k)
- Georgetown – 34
- Virginia – 38
- Richmond – 63
- George Mason – 110
- VCU – 122
- VMI – 165
- Christopher Newport – 186
- Mary Washington – 214
- Morgan State – 244
- Mary’s (Md.) – 313
- Virginia State – 314
- Virginia Union – 351