Seton Hall University
Leopard Invitational
Rutkowski Wins as WXC Places Third at Leopard Invite
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
EASTON, PA. - Just six meets into her first collegiate campaign, the outstanding is beginning to become ordinary for Seton Hall freshman Christiana Rutkowski (Middletown, N.J.) who captured her second individual victory of the fall as part of a third-place team finish for the Pirates at the Leopard Invitational on Saturday.
Rutkowski, who topped a field of over 80 competitors at the 5K ASICS Embry-Riddle Classic in September, out-paced 56 other female entrants with a new personal-best 6K time of 22:58.40. The mark was more than 25 seconds faster than her previous top performance at the 6K distance and bested runner-up Stephanie Benko of hosts Lafayette by more than six seconds.
The local product has led The Hall in all six meets this season, placing among the top-six overall each time.
Senior Mary Migton (Ledgewood, N.J.) also continued her mid-season surge in Easton, recording a time of 23:51.65 to place fifth overall. Migton has followed Rutkowski to the line in four of her five appearances this season and now owns three top-five finishes of her own in 2014.
Ranking third for the Pirates was sophomore Desyre Blackburn (Aloha, Ore.) who has consistently been among the top-three performers on the squad since the beginning of the 2013 season. Blackburn clocked in at 24:36.20 to give SHU a trio of top-15 finishers on the afternoon.
The Seton Hall women have now landed at least three team members in the top-15 overall in four races this year.
Freshman Emily Curran (Wakefield, Mass.) notched the first scoring time of her career as well, reaching the finish in 27:53.85 to place19th among Division I competitors. Curran has posted one of the top-eight times on the team in each one of her five career appearances.
Returning to the scoring group was junior Amanda Catherall (Farmingdale, N.Y.) who delivered a 28:15.39 to round out the top-20 of the Division I field.
The Pirates have now ranked among the top-three teams in five of six meets this fall and head into the 2014 BIG EAST Championship boasting a roster that features eight team members that have recorded a scoring time to this point in the fall.
The conference championship will be held on Friday, October 31 in Indianapolis, Ind. The Seton Hall women will be aiming to improve on a ninth-place finish a year ago.
