LANCASTER, Pa. -- The Elmira College women's cross country team came within three points of the program's second all-time win on Friday evening, as the Soaring Eagles finished second at Lancaster Bible College's Charger Invitational.

The EC women accumulated 51 points, trailing only first-place McDaniel College (48) despite placing more runners inside the top 10 on the individual leaderboard. The Purple and Gold outpaced the host Chargers, who took third with 65 points. Cairn University and Penn State-Berks rounded out the top-five with 83 and 129 points, respectively.

Leading the way for the Soaring Eagles was Emma MacDowell '23, as the first-year standout from Rushville, New York, came in third place. Her personal-record time of 26:4.7 is the ninth-best six-kilometer performance in Elmira history. Only three spots behind MacDowell was junior Claire Preisch '21, who came in sixth with a season-best time of 27:13.9.

Ashley Naples '22 trimmed nearly a minute off of her time from her first collegiate 6K. Naples was clocked at 29:48.9, good enough for 14th place. Also inside the top 20 was Danielle Knapp '23, as the Owego, New York, native came in 17th place with a season-best 6K time of 30:11.5.

Earning a 25th-place result out of a field of 46 competitors was Mackenzie Becker '23. Like her fellow freshmen teammates, Becker also ran the fastest 6K race of her young career as a Soaring Eagle, as she completed the course in 33:41.9.

Competing as an individual in the men's eight-kilometer race, second-year distance runner Owen Rose '22 took 23rd out of 55. His time of 31:20.9 was also an improvement from his first 8K of the year by nearly one-and-a-half minutes.

Elmira Women's Results
3 – Emma MacDowell – 26:48.7
6 – Claire Preisch – 27:13.9
14 – Ashley Naples – 29:48.9
17 – Danielle Knapp – 30:11.5
25 – Mackenzie Becker – 33:41.9

Team Results

1. McDaniel – 48
2. Elmira – 51
3. Lancaster Bible – 65
4. Cairn – 83
5. Penn State-Berks – 129
6. Penn State-Harrisburg – 133
7. Valley Forge – 151
8. Notre Dame (Md.) – 160

Up Next
On Saturday, September 28, the Soaring Eagles will return to the trails to compete in the Cazenovia College Homecoming Invitational, hosted by the Wildcats of Cazenovia at Fenner Fields.