SAN FRANCISCO — For the first time in her collegiate cross country career, Julia Flynn crossed the finish line in front of the pack, winning the women’s six-kilometer race at the 32nd USF Invite on Friday. The win marks Stanford’s 11th individual or team win in its 12 showings at the annual meet.Â
Flynn, who paced the pack from wire-to-wire, posted a collegiate best on Friday, running the race at Golden Gate Park’s Hellman Hollow in a scorching 20:10.3. The senior outran the pack by over 16 seconds for her first collegiate win. Following Flynn, Amaya Bharadwaj showed well in her collegiate debut, placing fifth overall with a time of 20:45.2 as one of the front runners of the pack.Â
Following the two leaders for the Cardinal, Maya de Brouwer scored third for Stanford with a time of 22:03.0, placing 36th overall. Clemmie Lilley and Amelia Everett were the final scoring harriers for Stanford as both finished in order with identical times of 22:47.2, slotting in 69th and 70th. Ashlyn Boothby was the reserve score for Stanford in her collegiate debut, setting a personal-best time of 23:52.0 as the Cardinal women secured sixth overall.Â
On the men’s side, Stanford finished the meet in pack-like fashion with six harriers finishing within .6 seconds of each other. Leading the Stanford peloton, Josh Bell snagged the top team spot for the Cardinal with a time of 25:01.6 while Byron Grevious, Sean Fries, Marshall Vernon, Quinn White and Paul Bergeron finished inside the .6 second interval. Alongside Fries and Vernon, Alex Fisher competed in his first collegiate meet, finishing just outside the Stanford group as the Cardinal earned fifth-place overall.Â
Women (6K, 3.72 miles)
Team leaders - 1, San Francisco, 41; 2, Stanislaus State, 82; 3, Cal Baptist, 87; 4, California, 95; 6, Stanford, 145
Individuals - 1, Julia Flynn 20:10.3; 5, Amaya Bharadwaj 20:45.2; 36, Maya De Brouwer 22:03.0; 69, Clemmie Lilley 22:47.2; 70, Amelia Everett 22:47.2; 100, Ashlyn Boothby 23:52.0
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Team leaders - 1, Cal Baptist, 33; 2, San Francisco, 50; 3, California, 77; 4, Santa Clara, 109; 5, Stanford, 150
Individuals - 32, Josh Bell 25:01.6; 33, Byron Grevious 25:01.8; 34, Sean Fries 25:02.0; 35, Marshall Vernon 25:02.0; 36, Quinn White 25:02.1; 37, Paul Bergeron 25:02.2; 45, Alex Fisher 25:12.2