Third Place by Currier Helps Gophers Move Up Two Spots

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Goucher's Katherine Currier (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaGuardia) placed third overall and two of the junior's teammates joined her among the top 10 finishers as the Gophers claimed fourth place in the team scoring at today's 2013 Landmark Conference Championship conducted on the campus of the U.S. Soldiers' & Airmen's Home.

Currier completed the 6,000-meter race in 23:45.7. The only two runners to finish ahead of her were Katrina Woods from Juniata, who placed first with her time of 23:20.3, and Moravian's Claire Del Casale, who was runner-up (23:32.0).

By placing third, Currier became the first female runner in the history of Goucher's cross country program to earn first-team all-conference honors (for finishing in seventh place or higher at the conference meet) three times during her career.

June Chiango (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing Area) and Katelynn Zidanic (York, Pa./Central York) both came away with second-team all-conference recognition for their performances. Chiango crossed the finish line in 24:42.4, good for eighth place, and Zidanic, who was in 17th place with a half-mile left to run, passed enough runners down the stretch to wind up 10th overall (25:07.5).

Chiango was the top finisher among the freshmen who competed in the race; it was the third consecutive year Zidanic's performance landed her on the All-Landmark second team.

Goucher's next two runners following Zidanic were Camille Jorgensen (San Diego, Calif./Patrick Henry) in 32nd place and Kathryn Walker (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) in 36th. Jorgensen was clocked at 26:38.0 and Walker at 26:54.8.

Moravian unseated Catholic as the Landmark champions. The Greyhounds picked up 47 points, giving them a 16-point victory over Scranton in the team scoring. Susquehanna placed third with 75 points.

The fourth-place finish in the team scoring by the Gophers, who earned 87 points, represents an improvement by two places over last year.

The Cardinals dropped to fifth place with 116 points and were followed by Juniata in sixth (147 points) and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in seventh (189).