Coast-to-Coast battle in Beantown gives Syracuse Women’s Cross Country a Glimpse at Their Future

By: Tarohn Finley

The Syracuse Women’s Cross Country team faced a setback during the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, with them having their lowest finish of the season, placing 12th.

After rising to No.21 in the USTFCCCA rankings, the Syracuse Women’s Cross Country team traveled to Boston College for the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. This is Syracuse’s seventh consecutive team that has represented the event since it launched in 2013.

This year, in the women’s 5k, the team was able to score 347 points with no runners finishing inside the top 50. Sophomore Caroline Kirby just missed the cutoff placing 52nd, finishing with a time of 18:13.4. Bethany Steiner (76th/18:31.4), Leah Flutey (86th/18:41.1), Tez Fitzmaurice (18:43.9, 89th) and Emily Toth-Ratazzi (96th/18:53.4) all finished in the top 100. Olivia Shattuck (19:36.9) and Taylor Mascetta (19:50.7) also competed for Syracuse. Like the men’s side, the Ivy League was able to dominate this event with Harvard and Penn being the top two finishers. The Crimson placed first in the event with 61 points and had the first runner to cross the finish line, junior Maia Ramsden ( 17:00.1.)

Last year the event’s strong competition helped fuel the team midway through the season. The team is hoping for similar results this year. While the team was hoping for better results on Friday, the recent meet provided insight on depth and youth. With the team implementing a different roster than the one from last week against Virginia, the Orange are hoping the new faces turn into contributors throughout the season.

On October 13th, Syracuse will look to bounce back when the team travels to Madison, Wisconsin for the Nuttycombe Invitational. Last year the Women’s team was able to finish 13th, scoring 506 points in the event. They hope to build on their results and continue to rise both in-depth and in the rankings.