The St. John’s cross country team came in 15th place at the Annual Br.  John Paddy Doyle/Iona College Meet of Champion this past Saturday, Sept. 20. Their overall score was 433 in the women’s championship 6K race at the Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Junior Stephanie Van Pelt felt her team’s performance “was all about being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

“We knew it was going to be difficult, but everybody pulled through,” she said. “I think we did well with it being our first 6K of the season. We had a hard workout earlier this week so this was another good workout for us as we prepare ourselves for the championship season and the Big East Championship.”

With Van Belt’s positive attitude the team can definitely place higher this year as they continue to work harder and improve. She came in 33rd place with a personal record of 23.32. Right behind her at 91st place was Stephanie’s twin sister Michelle Van Pelt with a time of 25.06.

Coach Jim Hurt was very excited for his team to compete at the historic Van Cortlandt Park, saying, “The meet traditionally draws some of the best teams and individuals from the Northeast and will give our team the opportunity to test itself on a great course and against a great field of runners. We will know a lot about our team when the race is over which will help us move forward over the next few weeks.”

Senior Chelsea Trant  is finally back from an injury that led her to take a year off and came in 114th place with a time of 26:07. Junior Veronica Thompson placed 147th with a time of 28 minutes flat. Right behind her five places back was senior Nastasya Rodriques at 151st place with a time of 29:14.

The team consists of 15 women who will all bring some awesome talent as they train hard to break more records and keep placing higher as the season continues. There are many new talented additions like freshman Izzi Batt-Doyle, who made her very first collegiate debut. St John’s cross country will hopefully keep running until they make it to the top.