WINCHESTER, Va. – The Gallaudet University women's cross country team took to the starting line here Friday evening at the SU Twilight Open as a warm setting sun draped Kernstown Battlefield.

The Bison had six runners finish the 5-kilometer (5K) race, which was hosted by Shenandoah University, as the buff and blue placed ninth overall.

Jillian Sisk from Virginia Military Institute (Division I), topped the podium in the 5K race with a time of 18 minutes and 12 seconds, as she crossed the finish line first among 77 runners. The top Division III finisher was Ester Zar from Batten University (previously Virginia Wesleyan University) with a time of 18:18 to place second.

Gallaudet's top finisher was first year Natalie Greene (Houston, Texas) who finished the hilly and challenging course in 58th place with a time of 27:06. 

Sophomore Jala Furdge (Brandon, Miss.) was Gallaudet's second finisher with a time of 30:30 to nab 66th place. First year Xue Atwood (Twin Falls, Idaho) made her Gallaudet debut and was the third Bison to finish with a time of 32:55 (69th place).

First year Dev Sklar (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was the fourth GU runner to finish in 73rd place (34:52). Junior Ashley Morales-Juan (Oklahoma City, Okla.) rounded out Gallaudet's team scoring with her 74th place (36:10) finish. First year Tori Cushshon (St. Louis, Mo.) was the sixth Bison to complete the race in 77th place (47:52).

Virginia Military Institute won the team competition with a team score of 31. Team scores are the aggregate of the position of each of the team's first five runners to cross the finish line. Batten University finished the team competition in second with 39 points followed by Roanoke College in third (53 points) out of a field of nine teams. The Bison tallied 257 team points.

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will run at the South Region Preview next Saturday, Sept. 19, at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va., hosted by University of Lynchburg. The women's race is slated for a 10 a.m. start.