LAKELAND, Fla. - The first race for the Embry-Riddle women's cross country team as a full member of NCAA II resulted in a runner-up finish on Saturday morning. The Eagles' second-place finish at the 3K Holloway Park Festival (hosted by Florida Southern) is their best since a second-place showing at the 2015 Sand Shark Invitational.

Embry-Riddle - 2nd of 5 (Meet Results)
ERAU put two runners in the top six and five in the top-15 en route to the runner-up finish, but Saint Leo, the top-ranked team in the South Region, swept the top three individual spots and edged the Eagles 27 points to 37 for the team title. The Blue and Gold finished in front of region No. 7 Florida Southern (75), and fellow Sunshine State members Lynn (89) and Rollins (155).

The Eagles 
Embry-Riddle enjoyed the return of many of its top runners after they redshirted the 2016 season, including sophomore Sarah Edens who was the top Eagle finisher in 11:01.16 for a fourth-place finish. Junior Alex Orr finished sixth in 11:04.16, while Marina LeVine (11:22.27) and cross country newcomer Kristen Metcalfe (11:23.80) went 12th and 13th, resepctively. Nicole Kvitkauskas made her Eagle debut with a 15th-place finish in 11:28.07.

Mikaela Hakamaa placed 19th in 11:35.37, while Josie Gray ran to a 25th-place finish in 11:48.39, rounding out the Eagles' top seven. Eliza Gazda (11:52.58) and Magdelina Allen (11:53.59) went back-to-back in 27th and 28th for the Eagles, and Megan Fletcher came in at 36th (12:03.58). Ukeyvia Beckwith (12:10.55) was the fourth Eagle freshman to make her cross country debut on Saturday, finishing 42nd overall, and Brianna Paczynski completed the Eagles' list of runners in 13:40.36.

Quotable
"Our women ran well today," Head Coach Mike Roslino said. "We got off the line a little slow and had to worl to make up for it, but I was happy with our performance. It was a good opener on a short course. We look forward to going back to work and improving on this race at our home meet."

Next Up
Embry-Riddle will host its lone home meet of the season on Sept. 16, the ASICS Embry-Riddle Classic, on the campus of Embry-Riddle.