Brandywine Women Take Second; Men Fifth At Home Invitational

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- The Penn State Brandywine women's cross country team placed second, while the men's squad finished in a tie for fifth overall at the Lions' home invitational, which was comprised of USCAA, NCAA Division III and Division I club teams, on Saturday.

The Lion women compiled 44 points, finishing second only to Cabrini, one of the top Division III squads in the area, and 20 points ahead of third-place Neumann, also a Division III team. Valley Forge Military claimed the men's team title, while Cabrini took second and the Brandywine men tied for fifth, one point ahead of Neumann.

Jennifer Petrella was the top finisher for the Brandywine women, crossing the line in a time of 25:39, to tie for 16th overall in the 47-runner field. Petrella was sixth among non-club competitors.

Annie Mueller (26:07) ran to a 22nd-place showing, while Jessica Powers ran to 24th and Niki Maginnis was just behind her in 25th. Jessica Maginnis rounded out the Lions in 37th during the 5K race.

Alex Rivera-Santiago (36:06) paced the Lions' men's squad after completing the 8K race with the ninth-fastest time by a non-club runner and 23rd overall. Henry Lee ran to 47th, while Mario Miceli placed 48th.

Luq Richard sped to 58th position and Tito Orjih finished 60th.

Brandywine is idle until October 4th when the teams travel to the Bethelem, Pa., to compete at the Paul Short Invitational, annually one of the most competitive races in the area.