MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Millersville women's cross country team continued building toward its first intercollegiate meet of the season with its annual Alumni Run on Friday evening at Freedom Park in Millersville.
Bri Pollock won the 3K race in 11:28.4.
The race, half the distance of a standard meet, included three laps around the hilly park. Pollock pulled away from the pack on the final loop. Senior
Olivia Sunderland took second place in 11:41.0, followed by a pair of freshmen in
Kira Chebishev (11:44.3) and
Leanne Hodgson (11.44.7).
"We are trying to gradually build to what we race," said Millersville head coach
Andy Young. "For the younger athletes, it is a little bit of an adjustment going from 5K to 6K, so we like to adapt and try something shorter for them rather than throw them directly into the fire."
Along with serving as a way to prep the team for competition, the race also included a number of alums, such as 2024 NCAA qualifier
Morgan Janiuk '24 and 2002 hall of fame inductee Gregory Cauller '81. The field of 31 was comprised of current team members, alumni, members of the coaching staff and track and field team.
"I love seeing the alums come back and run," said Young. "The oldest one graduated in 1981, and we had a bunch of recent ones. They still have the same energy that they brought as athletes, so that's fun to have."
Millersville's season begins in earnest on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Lebanon Valley's Dutchmen Invitational.
