Gamecocks Sweep Titles at Winthrop Invitational
Hannah Twine won the individual title and Carolina won the team title
ROCK HILL—The South Carolina women’s cross country team claimed the team title and the individual title at the Winthrop Invitational on Saturday morning.
Cross country coach Andrew Allden said he was pleased with the performance from his team on Saturday.
“It was a very solid team performance,” Allden said. “In terms of competitive effort and racing, I was very pleased with how we performed today. I’m very excited for Hannah Twine to have the opportunity to win a race. In cross country, that doesn’t happen too much just because you’ve got 200-300 people and only one can win.
“Kira Jenkins had another very solid performance today. Claudia Satzke stepped up for us today. Meg Lebo had a big breakthrough today. All-in-all, a good solid team performance.”
Hannah Twine was the individual champion of the Winthrop Invitational. She led the entire way and won the 5K race with a time of 18:58.75. Twine finished the race with a six-second advantage over Heidi Fortin of Citadel. The individual victory is the first cross country win of her career.
The Gamecocks had five of the top nine athletes for the second consecutive meet. Twine, Kira Jenkins (third, 19:08.50), Claudia Satzke (seventh, 19:51.69), Katerina Hendrix (eighth, 20:00.75) and Syrah Ghijselings (ninth, 20:03.90) all scored for Carolina in a victorious effort.
Meg Lebo (13th, 20:20.26), Savannah Bowers (15th, 20:26.22), Kathleen Abrams (16th, 20:32.02) and Jenna Pellizzari (19th, 20:46.86) rounded out the contingent of nine Gamecocks to finish in the top 20.
Carolina totaled 28 points for the second straight competition. The Gamecocks beat Wofford, the next best team, by 18 points and bested third-place VMI by 78 points.
Each of Carolina’s 16 finishing athletes placed in the top half of the 92-athlete field.
The Gamecocks next met is set for Oct. 1 when they move up to 6K and run at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Team Results
1. South Carolina – 28 points
2. Wofford – 46 points
3. VMI – 106 points
Individual Results
1. Hannah Twine – 18:58.75
3. Kira Jenkins – 19:08.50
7. Claudia Satzke – 19:51.69
8. Katerina Hendrix – 20:00.75
9. Syrah Ghijselings – 20:03.90
13. Meg Lebo – 20:20.26
15. Savannah Bowers – 20:26.22
16. Kathleen Abrams – 20:32.02
19. Jenna Pellizzari – 20:46.86
21. Isabella Pisani – 20:52.55
26. Kensi Gray – 21:02.75
28. Emily Pierontoni – 21:15.01
29. Hannah Cella – 21:17.49
31. Elizabeth Davison – 21:24.65
38. Christina Ceniccola – 21:51.39
41. Lyndsey Fowler – 22:03.30
