Saunders takes individual title in cross country

The JMU women’s cross country squad came within a single point of winning the Colonial Athletic Association title this past Saturday, marking the closest margin of victory in the CAA’s 21-year history, while junior Shannon Saunders took home the individual title.

"I was a little disappointed but the women ran as well as they really could," coach Dave Rinker said. "They followed the plan to the T."

In addition to Saunders’ individual victory, juniors Nelly Anderson and Tiffany Cross and freshman Michelle Beardmore earned all-conference honors, placing fourth, seventh and 10th, respectively.

Saunders made her way through the six-kilometer course with a time of 21:00.4. Having finished third last year to a pair of seniors, Saunders came into the race as the favorite and was pleased to live up to her billing.

"It wasn’t too big of a surprise, but I’m happy to win," Saunders said.

At the one-mile mark, Saunders had already separated herself from the pack with the College of William & Mary’s Julie Cathcart and Meghan Bishop at her heels. Caught in the middle of the chase pack, Anderson was in sixth.

Saunders increased her lead to almost half a minute, entering the homestretch with Anderson still in sixth.

Coming around the final turn, Anderson methodically passed Cathcart and Bishop to take fourth with a time of 21:40.

"She ran a great race," Saunders said of her teammate. "We’ve raced them before and we knew what to expect of them, so that was part of the plan the coach laid out for us."

In addition to Saunders, Beardmore and Cross, senior Cindy Dunham and sisters Ashley and Kelly Payne rounded out the top seven finishers for the JMU squad.