Temple University Athletics
Friday, September 20
Bronx, N.Y.
10:45 AM
Temple University
at
Iona Meet of Champions
Women's Cross Country Returns to Action at Iona Meet of Champions Friday
9.19.19 | Women's Cross Country
PHILADELPHIA – After nearly a three-week hiatus from competition, the Temple University women's cross country team will travel to the Bronx, N.Y. to compete in the Iona Meet of Champions on Friday, Sept. 20. The women's championship 5K is set to begin at 10:45 am as the Owls return to Van Cortlandt Park for the first time since they captured their first-ever ECAC Championship title last fall.
Last Time Out
> The Owls toed the starting line for the first time in 2019 on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. Debuting a group of young talent in Cherry and White, the Owls finished fourth as a team in a strategy-based opening day.
> A new face in Cherry and White earned the top spot for the Owls in the season-opener as freshman Cat Shontz led the pack with a top-10 finish. The Elizabethtown, Pa. native debuted her rookie talent to finish 10th overall with a time of 22:49.
> Running alongside Shontz was Michelle Joyce in a steady first performance of the season. The junior captain worked with her new teammate to stay towards the front of the pack, earning a 12th place finish with a time of 22:52.
> Fruition of the game plan continued as sophomore Lexi Walsh and junior Mikaela Vlasic crossed the finish line just one second apart. Walsh led the pair with a time of 23:06 to earn 17th overall. Vlasic, a transfer from Pitt, had a solid first showing in Cherry and White as she barely trailed her teammate to finish the race in 23:07.
> Freshman Maya Kalach rounded out the Temple top-five in a time of 24:13. The Bellevue, Wash. Native also performed well in her rookie showing to place 32nd in her first collegiate race.
About the Owls
> The Owls are coached by James Snyder in his seventh year with the program. Returning almost the entirety of its key runners from last fall and bringing in an impressive slate of freshmen and transfers, Temple is primed to secure its spot at the top of the American and continue to strive for greatness.
> The Owls showed a vast amount of improvement last year with record-breaking success during the championship portion of the season. In one of the tightest team battles of AAC history, the Owls fell just short of a conference title at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championship with just four points separating them and the trophy. Two weeks later at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, the squad ran their hearts out on their hunt for redemption and saw their most complete team race of the season. Despite crushing their regional ranking and earning their highest finish in program history, the Owls fell one spot short of the national meet after finishing fourth overall.
> The Cherry and White will lean on familiar faces that earned a vast amount of accolades last season, bringing Grace Moore, Millie Howard and Helene Gottlieb back to the course. They landed a program-high three student-athletes on the AAC All-Conference team with Lucy Jones, Joyce and Gottlieb earning the honors, and placed two on the All-Region team in Moore and Kira von Ehren. The Cherry and White wrapped up their 2018 season in stellar fashion, capturing the program's first-ever ECAC Championship title. The victory was led by Moore, who won the individual title for the first time in program history.
> Adding to its talented core, Temple has brought in three true freshmen and three illustrious transfers to raise the bar even higher for the coming season. Kalach, Laura Nicholson and Shontz will make up this year's freshman class, and Vlasic, Erinn Stenman-Fahey and Alanna Lally come to Temple with many years of experience under their belts.
About the Iona Meet of Champions
> The 25th annual Meet of Champions will take place on Friday, Sept. 20 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, NY. The men's championship 8K race will go off at 10:00 a.m. and the women's championship 5k race will go off at 10:45 a.m.
Last Time Out
> The Owls toed the starting line for the first time in 2019 on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. Debuting a group of young talent in Cherry and White, the Owls finished fourth as a team in a strategy-based opening day.
> A new face in Cherry and White earned the top spot for the Owls in the season-opener as freshman Cat Shontz led the pack with a top-10 finish. The Elizabethtown, Pa. native debuted her rookie talent to finish 10th overall with a time of 22:49.
> Running alongside Shontz was Michelle Joyce in a steady first performance of the season. The junior captain worked with her new teammate to stay towards the front of the pack, earning a 12th place finish with a time of 22:52.
> Fruition of the game plan continued as sophomore Lexi Walsh and junior Mikaela Vlasic crossed the finish line just one second apart. Walsh led the pair with a time of 23:06 to earn 17th overall. Vlasic, a transfer from Pitt, had a solid first showing in Cherry and White as she barely trailed her teammate to finish the race in 23:07.
> Freshman Maya Kalach rounded out the Temple top-five in a time of 24:13. The Bellevue, Wash. Native also performed well in her rookie showing to place 32nd in her first collegiate race.
About the Owls
> The Owls are coached by James Snyder in his seventh year with the program. Returning almost the entirety of its key runners from last fall and bringing in an impressive slate of freshmen and transfers, Temple is primed to secure its spot at the top of the American and continue to strive for greatness.
> The Owls showed a vast amount of improvement last year with record-breaking success during the championship portion of the season. In one of the tightest team battles of AAC history, the Owls fell just short of a conference title at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championship with just four points separating them and the trophy. Two weeks later at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, the squad ran their hearts out on their hunt for redemption and saw their most complete team race of the season. Despite crushing their regional ranking and earning their highest finish in program history, the Owls fell one spot short of the national meet after finishing fourth overall.
> The Cherry and White will lean on familiar faces that earned a vast amount of accolades last season, bringing Grace Moore, Millie Howard and Helene Gottlieb back to the course. They landed a program-high three student-athletes on the AAC All-Conference team with Lucy Jones, Joyce and Gottlieb earning the honors, and placed two on the All-Region team in Moore and Kira von Ehren. The Cherry and White wrapped up their 2018 season in stellar fashion, capturing the program's first-ever ECAC Championship title. The victory was led by Moore, who won the individual title for the first time in program history.
> Adding to its talented core, Temple has brought in three true freshmen and three illustrious transfers to raise the bar even higher for the coming season. Kalach, Laura Nicholson and Shontz will make up this year's freshman class, and Vlasic, Erinn Stenman-Fahey and Alanna Lally come to Temple with many years of experience under their belts.
About the Iona Meet of Champions
> The 25th annual Meet of Champions will take place on Friday, Sept. 20 at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, NY. The men's championship 8K race will go off at 10:00 a.m. and the women's championship 5k race will go off at 10:45 a.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
800m
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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