LEBANON, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's cross country season got off to a great start to the season placing three runners in the top 10 and finishing second as a team on Saturday morning as the Dutchmen hosted a large field for the 52nd annual Dutchmen Invitational at Union Canal Tunnel Park in Lebanon. LVC was the top Division III team in the field as Division I Navy won the team title.
 
"The course ran really well, but ultimately ever-so-slightly slower than last year with the humidity and some softness due to storms on Thursday", Head Coach James O'Brien stated. "I am super impressed by my women's team right now. Our five-runner average of 18:52 is exceptional for this time of year, as well as seven runners sub-20 to open. Having Division 1 Navy was a nice push for our ladies - and I'm proud of how we were able to break up their scoring contingency. Lots of really good things across the board. I'm excited to get another few weeks of training in before our first go at a 6K in a few weeks.  
 
Kyrianna Nemitz had a fantastic first cross country race for the Dutchmen as the junior was the top Division III finisher and third overall in the field of 186 with a career-best 5,000-meter time of 18:19.2. She was nearly a full minute faster than her time of 19:10.9 she ran at last year's Dutchmen Invitational for the University of Scranton. Coyla Bartholomew finished right behind her in fourth, running 18:33.5. She was just nine seconds off her career best time of 18:24.2 she ran last year to finish second. Autumn Garges was the third Dutchman to finish in the top 10 as the senior was sixth in a career-best 18:37.1. Her time was five seconds quicker than her previous best of 18:42.8 that she ran at last year's meet.
 
Lila Shore had a great debut as the first year finished 23rd overall and was the top Division III first-year in the field with a time of 19:22.9. Abigail Hunt ran a career-best 19:28.8 as LVC's fifth finisher to cross the line in 27th place. She was six seconds faster than her previous best time of 19:34.7, which she ran last year at Union Canal Tunnel Park. Charlee Kurtz was the next LVC finisher as the junior placed 34th in a career-best 19:50.9. Her previous career best came at this meet last year where she ran 20:16.6. Kaylee Senglar rounded out the top seven with a career-best time of 19:57.5. Her previous best time was run last year at the Dutchmen Invitational with a time of 20:25.0. Senior Dani Fetterolf ran a career-best time of 21:15.2 lowering her previous time of 22:41.5 from the Dutchmen Invitational in 2021.
 
Navy placed five in the top eight to win the team title with 23 points. Jane Phillips was the individual winner of the race with a time of 18:06.30. LVC scored 48 points to finish second, while Division II Millersville was third with 84 points. Hood College placed fourth with 157 points, while Susquehanna University was fifth with 175 points.

LVC Finishers

PL	NAME	Avg. Mile	TIME	SCORE
3	Kyrianna Nemitz	05:53.8	18:19.2	3
4	Coyla Bartholomew	05:58.4	18:33.5	4
6	Autumn Garges	05:59.5	18:37.1	6
23	Lila Shore	06:14.3	19:22.9	16
27	Abigail Hunt	06:16.2	19:28.8	19
34	Charlee Kurtz	06:23.3	19:50.9	23
36	Kaylee Senglar	06:25.4	19:57.5	25
40	Sierra Kapcsos	06:31.9	20:17.6
48	Caroline Borleis	06:41.7	20:48.1
59	Dani Fetterolf	06:50.4	21:15.2
72	Nina Milosevic	06:58.9	21:41.5
77	Christine Wagner	07:03.8	21:56.7
95	Madison Sneath	07:18.2	22:41.7
120	Grace Buerke	07:35.8	23:36.4
135	Ciara Millan	08:05.6	25:09.0
160	Brooke Eberhard	09:11.9	28:35.0

 
Up Next
The Dutchmen will be off for a couple of weeks before returning to action on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Lock Haven Invitational. The first race is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the West Branch Course in Lock Haven.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.