LEBANON, Pa. – Lauren Bunke finished second overall and was the top collegiate finisher to power the Lebanon Valley women's cross country team to a third place team finish at the 50th Annual Dutchmen Invitational.
LVC alum and 2023 LVC Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Jenn Cronin won the race with a time of 18:15.90. Bunke was not too far behind her with a career best 5,000-meter time of 18:27.70. Bunke made her move a little after the half-mile mark and pulled away from the rest of the field trying to catch Cronin. Bunke averaged 5:56.5 per mile.
Coyla Bartholomew finished 12th among collegiate runners with a time of 19:32.9 and was the seven Division III finisher.
Autumn Garges also finished 18th with a time of 19:46.10.
"From a team perspective, we averaged 36 seconds faster than our five-runner average compared to 2022," stated head coach James O'Brien. "That is huge. Some really standout performances and then a strong pack four-six. We need to continue to develop and move our second pack forward but I believe the tools are there to do so. This was a much better performance for our ladies compared to last week, in my opinion."
Division I Seton Hall University won the team title placing four runners in the top five behind Bunke to score 28 points. Washington and Lee, who is regionally ranked in the South Region scored 43 points to finish second. The Dutchmen were third with 101 points while Division II West Chester was fourth with 148 points. Arcadia University rounded out the top five with 170 points.
The Dutchmen had their top five runners break 21 minutes while their top eight runners all averaged under seven minutes per mile.
LVC Finishers
Up Next
The Dutchmen will have a couple weeks off before heading to Lock Haven on Saturday September 23 to preview this year's regional course.
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