PRINCETON, NJ –
Rose Coats set a new school record becoming the first Terp to post a sub-20 minute time on a 6K course as Maryland closed out the regular season on Friday morning at the Princeton Fall Classic.
Coats, who entered the race ranked as the No. 16 runner in the Big Ten, will likely move up after setting the new school record and personal-best 6K mark with her time of 19 minutes, 59.9 seconds to finish 12th overall. That shaved nearly 23 seconds off her previous collegiate best which came in the season-opener at the Salisbury Fall Classic. Late in the race on Friday, she sat as high as 10
th through 5,200 meters before finished 12
th overall among 236 runners who completed the course.
Originally, Coats was credited with a time of 20 minutes, 0.2 seconds before a timing adjustment dropped her time to just under 20 minutes.
Katie Turk, Maryland's second runner to cross the line, also had a personal-best time of 20 minutes, 57.1 seconds to finish 73
rd overall as she moved up seven spots down the final stretch. She cut nine seconds off her previous best time of 21 minutes, 6.9 seconds.
Rounding out the Terps' top five were
Eva Rogers (89
th, 21:05.4),
Katie Altieri (133
rd, 21:36.3), and
Rubie Goffena (179
th, 22:23.3).
Overall, the Terps placed 16
th overall in the highly competitive field as the Terps now turn their sights to the Big Ten Championship race in two weeks.
The 24 team field featured seven programs ranked in the most recent USTFCCCA Coaches Poll: No. 9 Georgetown, No. 10 Providence, No. 16 North Carolina, No. 21 Penn State, No. 23 Syracuse, No. 24 Boston College, and No. 25 Villanova.
From Coach Valmon:
"Today the team took on the challenge of a competitive field and fast pace to get out hard from the gun. Rose's performance ranks as the top all-time in Terps cross country history."
Up Next: Maryland will return to action on Nov. 1 at the Big Ten Championship hosted by Illinois in Champaign, IL. Last season, the Terps finished 10th at the Big Ten Championship to equal its best mark in the event originally set in 2017. That set-up an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet which was the best finish for the harriers since 2003.
Maryland Top Five Finishers:
12.
Rose Coats (19:59.9)
73.
Katie Turk (20:57.1)
89.
Eva Rogers (21:05.4)
133.
Katie Altieri (21:36.3)
179.
Rubie Goffena (22.23.3)
Top Five Team Scores:
1. Georgetown (59)
2. Providence (65)
3. North Carolina (120)
4. Penn State (128)
5. Villanova (141)
16. Maryland (415)
