By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Following a dominating performance in their season opener, the women’s cross country team continued its winning streak with two wins against Duquesne and Pittsburgh this past Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Orange and Blue placed seven runners in the top 10 spots, with Stephanie Fulmer ’12 claiming third place overall and the top spot for the Bison with a time of 18:24.

“We were very pleased with how the meet went this weekend. Duquesne always is a strong team, and they gave us a really great and competitive meet, but it’s very encouraging to us that we came out with the win,” Leah Goeke ’13 said.

Despite surrendering the top two spots to the Dukes, the Bison claimed a narrow 27-32 victory over Duquesne thanks to strong performances by a trio of senior runners. Fulmer, Alysha Hooper ’12 and Emily Liggett ’12 each finished under 18:30, claiming third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

“The main reason why we were successful was because of our depth and how we ran together,” Goeke said. “We were assigned to groups before the race, and for the most part everyone stayed with their group. It really must have affected Duquesne mentally. When four orange jerseys fly past you, it must feel pretty defeating.”

The Bison had a much easier time against a Pittsburgh squad that didn’t place a runner in the top 30 spots, cruising to a 15-50 win.

Looking ahead, the Bison will have this weekend off before they head to Lehigh for the Paul Short Invitational on Sept. 30.

“The team is confident after this past weekend’s meet,” Fulmer said. “We still have to develop some frontrunners to gain ground, but we showed a strong improvement from the Bison Open and are set up well to go after a win in the Patriot League Championships.”