Sept. 9, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After opening the 2011 campaign with a team title at the UMES Lid-Lifter Invitational, the Navy women's cross country team will look to repeat its success this Saturday at the James Madison University Open Invitational. The meet will be held in New Market, Va., and will begin at 11 a.m.

About the JMU Open Invitational
The JMU Open Invitational will take place at the New Market Battlefield and will feature five teams in addition to Navy, including: Bridgewater, Howard, Longwood, Mary Washington and host JMU.

For more information, including a course map, click here.

Patriot League Recognizes Palacio and Cuthbert
Senior Jess Palacio was named Patriot League Runner of the Week and freshman Shannon Cuthbert was tabbed the conference's Rookie of the Week, it was announced by the league on Tuesday. Palacio claimed her fifth-career individual title at the UMES Lid-Lifter Invitational as she led the field of 95 runners with a time of 17:41.49.

In her collegiate debut, Cuthbert placed second with a time of 18:09.18.

Recapping the UMES Invitational
Navy started the 2011 strong as it swept the top-five spots and won the eight-team UMES Lid-Lifter Invitational. Palacio and Cuthbert, who finished in first and second place respectively, Brigid Byrne, Annie-Norah Beveridge and Christina Blair completed Navy's top five.

Quoting the Coach
Head coach Karen Boyle on this week's race...
"JMU has a reputation for being a strong and balanced team. We'll be working on running together stronger. We had a nice tight pack last week but want to have people a little closer to Jess (Palacio). We're trying to tighten up our 1-7."

Navy in the USTFCCCA Regional Poll
In the preseason United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic region poll released on Aug. 29, Navy was ranked No. 9. The next USTFCCCA regional polls will be released on Sept. 12.

Mids Picked Third in Preseason Patriot League Poll
Navy was picked third in the annual preseason Patriot League poll, which was voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information contacts. Colgate, which won the league title last year was voted first with 12 first-place votes, while Bucknell, which was picked second, and Navy each received two first-place votes.

Up Next
Navy will host the annual Salty Dog Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11:30 a.m. The race will take place at the USNA Golf Club.