Lawson Finishes First at Hokie Open

Friday, November 3

Blacksburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

Hokie Open

Katherine Lawson vs SBC Championship 102823

11/3/2023 7:30:00 PM | Cross Country

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Katherine Lawson earned her first collegiate victory with a 14:03.8 performance at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course on Friday afternoon at the Hokie Open.

JMU placed second as a team in the 4K race with 43 points (1-9-10-11-12), while host Virginia Tech registered 20 points (2-3-4-5-6) for the win.

How It Happened

Lawson edged the Hokie's Sarah Leach (14:06.3) for the win.
Freshman Kristin Giordano was the second Duke to finish (15th - 15:42.8), followed by junior Riley Schindel (16th – 15:51.3).
Junior Sierra Puleo (18th – 16:29.9) and freshman Elizabeth Rainey (19th - 16:37.9) rounded out the scoring.

Quoting Head Coach Rebekah Ricksecker
"The Hokie Open has always been one of my favorite meets. It's a beautiful course with some rolling hills and a great opportunity to get in a 4K during the taper phase of training. We have several things to celebrate today. I'm super happy with how Katherine ran. She was patient and strong, as well as smooth and confident when she took the lead during the last mile of the race. Kristin bounced back well after some sickness last week. Today was Ellie Rainey's first race in a JMU uniform, and I'm excited to have her on the team. It was also Riley's and Sierra's best race of the season. Happy with how today went."

JMU Runners
1. Katherine Lawson – 14:03.8
15. Kristin Giordano – 15:42.8 (PR)
16. Riley Schindel – 15:51.3 (PR)
18. Sierra Puleo – 16:29.9
19. Elizabeth Rainey – 16:37.9
20. Sarah Cestare – 16:44.2
22. Caroline Morley – 17:28.4 (PR)
23. Bridget Kiey – 17:39.6

Up Next
The Dukes will trek to Spartanburg, S.C. for the NCAA Southeast Regional meet, hosted by USC Upstate on Nov. 10. The women's race is set for 11 a.m. at the Milliken Research Center.

The top two teams in each regional secure automatic bids to the championship. The first four regional finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team also secure an auto-bid to the championships.

If a team doesn't secure an automatic bid, it will have to rely on the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee to select it as one of the 13 at-large teams. Only two individual at-larges are selected, making a strong regional performance pivotal to advancing toward a national title.

After regional action has concluded, advancing teams will compete for a national championship on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. Virginia will host the championship meet at Panorama Farms.