Freshmen lead way for Commodores at the Classic

Women place 4th overall; Men 9th

Sept. 17, 2011

The Vanderbilt men's and women's cross country teams hosted their annual Commodore Classic at Percy Warner Park, with the men finishing ninth and the freshmen women leading the way to a fourth place finish.

Amira Joseph placed seventh overall in the 5K with a time of 18:18, leading the women across the line. Claire Benjamin, with her time of 18:39, was the second Commodore to cross, coming in 16^th, with Rebecca Chandler finishing 24^th with a time of 18:47. The three freshmen made up the core of the team competing, with sophomore Megan Yohe (18:58, 32^nd) and seniors Erin McManus (18:59, 33^rd) and Erlena Josifi (19:22, 46^th) providing experience.

The women finished with 105 points, coming in behind first place Alabama with 45 points, second place Lipscomb (51), and third place Belmont (80).

For the men, Alan Ash had perhaps his best performance on the 8K course at Percy Warner, finishing first for the Commodores with a time of 26:20, 27^th overall. Freshmen John Ewing and John Adams followed closely behind, placing 32^nd and 43^rd overall.

The teams travel to Minnesota next weekend for the Roy Griak Invitational on the 23rd.