#19 Women's Cross Country Opens 2010 Season

Evans Leads Way as NYU Finishes Third at Monmouth

Evans had an impressive season debut for the Violets.

Maeve Evans was NYU's top finisher as the #19 Violets opened their 2010 season with a third-place finish at the Monmouth Cross Country Kickoff at Thompson Park in Lincroft, NJ, on Saturday, September 4.

Evans posted a career-best time 14:47.2 over the 4K distance, easily erasing her old mark of 16:28.15. She finished fifth overall in the seven-team, 78-person race.

NYU had one other top-20 performer, as Paige Zelinsky covered the distance in a time of 15:43.8 and took 17th place.

"Maeve ran really well," said NYU head coach Nick McDonough. "It was a good opportunity for her and the team to see where they're at so early in the season."

The Violets next finisher was Hannah Satzke, who took 21st place with a career-best time of 15:49.4. She was followed by a pair of NYU freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Emily Cousens finished 23rd overall (15:55.8), while Lorraine Brancale took 27th (16:01.6).

Another freshman, Gabriella Gjonaj, was the Violets' next finisher (31st place, 16:07.9).

Overall, the Violets placed behind the University of Albany and host Monmouth. Five of the squads represented NCAA Division I institutions.

"It was a nice debut for the freshmen and a good performance without our whole team competing," McDonough said, "After a few more weeks of workouts, we'll get better and be where we need to be."

The Violets return to competition on Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational in Carlisle, PA.