Northfield, VT - A pair of Vermont State University Lyndon women's cross country runners, Verna Stoddard (Orleans, VT) and Rachel Gilbert (East Burke, VT), competed in the Norwich University Cadet Invitational on Friday. Colby-Sawyer College captured the team championship, while Sydney Gonzalez of Emmanuel College was the individual race winner.
Stoddard, competing in her first intercollegiate race, completed the 6K course in 35:21.3, finishing 35th in the field of 49 runners. Gilbert, running her first race at the 6K distance, finished right behind in 36:07.6. The performance of the two women was notable in that it marked the first time since the 2019 season where Lyndon has had multiple women finish the same race.
Lyndon head coach Chris Chichester felt that the race was a positive step in both runners' development. "Rachel and Verna put on a nice display for their first 6k races a Hornets. Their training is coming along well and I expect to see steady progress in future meets from both."
The next scheduled race for the women is the North Atlantic Conference championship race on November 1st. The race will be hosted by Husson University and will go off at 11:30 am.
