George Washington University

Sept. 4, 2004

Complete Results

Princess Anne, MD - Led by top-five finishes from freshmen Gabrielle Polhemus (Boca Raton, FL/Spanish River) and Erynne Jones (Upland, CA/Upland), and junior Lindsay Blum (Holland, PA/Council Rock), The George Washington University women's cross country team placed first with just 25 points on Saturday in its season opener at the Cappy Anderson Invitational hosted by Maryland-Eastern Shore. Freshman John Woodside (Edmond, OK/Edmond Memorial) and Jeffrey Scranton (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) each finished in the top 10 to lead the men's team to a runner-up finish with 56 points.

In her first collegiate race, Polhemus finished the UMES 5k course in 19:50.35 to earn runner-up honors, while Blum crossed the line in 19:59.98 to place fourth. Jones and freshman Michelle Concannon (LaGrangeville, NY/Arlington) finished fifth (20:04.82) and sixth (20:12.35), respectively, while sophomore Bridget Skeuse (Stockton, NJ/Immaculata) clocked 20:27.70 for eighth to cap the scoring for the Colonials.

Junior Olivia Schramm (Berwyn, PA/Conestoga) also finished among the leaders with a time of 21:46.20 for 10th. Maryland-Eastern Shore's Eva Slavikova earned individual gold with a time of 19:20.91 to help the host Shore Hawks place second with 48 points.

On the men's side, the Colonials had four runners - all freshmen - finish among the top 15 to lead GW to a runner-up finish behind host UMES, which tallied just 16 points as it had the top four finishers in the 8k race. John Woodside and Scranton placed seventh (28:57.06) and eighth (28:58.33), respectively, to pace the Colonials in their collegiate debuts.

Freshmen James Woodside (Edmond, OK/Edmond Memorial) crossed the line in 29:20.49 to take 11th, while classmate Mark Drath (Los Angeles, CA/Brentwood School) finished 14th in 29:45.44. Sophomore Jay Vigorita (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim) completed the scoring finishing 16th in 29:59.05. In addition, freshman Joe Altenau (Eastchester, NY/Fordham Prep) placed 17th (30:09.86) and sophomore Phil Sherman (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) 18th (30:13.82).

The Colonials return to action next weekend when they travel to Towson, MD, on Saturday, Sept. 11, for the Towson Invitational at 10:30 a.m.

Women's Team Scores
1. GW, 25
2. UMES, 48
3. Norfolk St., 77
4. Delaware St., 88
5. Bowie St., 138




Men's Team Scores
1. UMES, 16
2. GW, 56
3. Hampton, 72
4. Delaware St., 97
5. Bowie St., 148
6. Norfolk St., 154