CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The University of Dayton women's cross country team took fourth place out of 15 teams at the Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday morning. Their team was led by Abby Carter and supported by several of her teammates who earned PRs in the 6K race. The Flyers were able to push through the challenges of a 40-minute rain delay and wet course conditions while putting on a high-quality performance.

Carter finished in second place overall with a PR time of 21:03.2. She was in the lead for the majority of the race, but fell behind VCU's star rookie Lauren Tunnell in the latter half. "I faced some really tough competition, and the leader from VCU did an amazing job," said Carter through a smile. "She was a great competitor, and she was really fun to race with. As hard as it was, I am very proud of myself today." Carter's time is now the sixth-best 6K in UD history, which is an 11-second improvement over her previous PR.

In addition to Carter's PR, half of the women's team earned PRs in the 6K race. Justine Smith finished in 39th place with a PR time of 22:24.4 after setting her previous PR at the last meet. Bryn Hothem's new PR is 22:54.6 for the 6K, which coincided with 63rd place. Olivia Kindbom finished with a PR of 24:16.4 as well. The most notable improvement came from Cara Mooney whose 22:48.1 time (59th place) is 22 seconds faster than her previous PR.

"I am very proud of the effort that the women gave today," shared Head Coach David Dobson. "Abby was the right balance of patience and aggressiveness, and the others really pulled together while being extremely tough and resilient. Many strong team performances today, but Jenna Eggleston stepping up as our 5th runner was tremendous and a highlight. Very proud of that senior effort!" Eggleston finished in 50th place with her season-best 6K time of 22:40.6.

Women's Cross Country will head to Madison, Wisconsin in two weeks to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, November 10.