Bird's Eye View - 2019 Women's Cross Country

It was a year to remember for the women’s cross country team as the Cardinals placed inside the top three four times overall including a second place showing at the Empire 8 Championship in November. The team would go on to finish 20th in the NCAA Regional Championship, which marked its second-highest finish in program history. 

Riley Corey burst onto the scene for Fisher in 2019 and would go on to be named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year while six were named All-Conference for their efforts. 

Here are the most memorable moments from Fisher’s campaign. 

Cardinals Take Third In Inaugural Fisher-Rodenbeck Invitational

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country team took home a third place finish on Friday night as the Cardinals hosted the inaugural Fisher-Rodenbeck Invitational.  As a team, the Cardinals scored 93 points.  Geneseo finished in the top team spot, scoring a total of 28 points.
 
Clarissa Hensler led the way for the Cardinals, as the sophomore placed ninth in the 4000-meter race with a final time of 16:01.0.  Junior Gabriella Dunkelberg finished 11th, just two positions after her teammate, as she crossed the finish line at 16:08.3.
 
Freshman Riley Corey had an excellent debut for Fisher as she finished in 15th place with a time of 16:13.2.
 
Fisher finished with an average team time of 16:35.3 while first place Geneseo averaged a time of 15:44.4.

Women's Cross Country Runs At The Hamilton Short Course Invite

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country team finished sixth in the 4000-meter race at the Hamilton Short Course Invite on Saturday. The Cardinals finished just under a minute behind the first place Roberts Wesleyan Red Hawks.

The Cardinals were paced by junior, Clarissa Hensler. She crossed the finish line in 16:11.4, which was good for 22nd place finish. Her 6:11 mile pace tied three other racers.

Freshman Riley Corey finished next for the Cardinals, as she took 28th place with a final time of 16:16.1. Gabriella Dunkelberg followed closely behind as the senior finished 37th with a time of in 16:26.0­­.

The Cardinals averaged a time of 16:32.7 which was just 1.4 seconds behind the fifth place team.

Fisher Posts Several Personal Records as Cardinals Back in Action at Mike Woods Invite

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country finished in ninth place on Saturday as the Cardinals returned to action at the 39th annual Mike Woods Invite.  SUNY Geneseo, which hosted the event, finished in first place overall while RIT took second.  The University of Rochester finished out the day in third place.  The meet marked one of the Cardinals' top performances this season as the tema finished just 16 points shy of The College of New Jersey, which entered the weekend ranked fourth in the Atlantic Region.

Riley Corey, who set a new Fisher record on the course, had a strong showing as the freshman paced Fisher and finished in 29th place after posting a time of 23:54.4.  Gabriella Dunkelberg placed 37th in the 6k race at 24:11.2 while Taylor Kennard was 54th in the standings with a final time of 24:53.4.  Both Dunkleberg and Kennard finished with personal best times in the event.  Taylor Highers was 70th (25:10.6) and posted a personal best time by over one minute and Morgan Gould was on her heels after finishing in 78th place at 25:23.1.  Gould's time was a personal best by nearly 90 seconds.

Corey Named Runner of the Week by Empire 8

Corey paced Fisher's performance at the 39th Annual Mike Woods Invite on Saturday with a time of 23:54.4 to place 29th overall at the 6k race. The time set by the Freshman was a new program record on the course hosted by SUNY Geneseo. As a team, the Cardinals took home ninth place. 

Corey Paces Women's Cross Country to Second Place Finish at Highlander Invite

Fresh off a personal best finish last week, freshman Riley Corey one-upped herself as the St. John Fisher College women's cross country team finished in second place on Saturday at the Highlander Invite.

Corey, who was named the Empire 8's Runner of the Week on Monday, took fourth place overall and lowered her personal best time by over 20 seconds with a finishing time of 23:33.0.  Gabriella Dunkelberg also lowered her top time by a significant margin after crossing the finish line with a mark of 23:55.3 – good for 10th place overall.

Taylor Kennard posted a time of 24:59.3 to claim 21st place while Taylor Highers was 27th (25:13.9).  Morgan Gould placed 29th on the day with a time of 25:23.4.

Women's Cross Country Impresses at Hoffmann Invitational

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country team made strides at the 28th Annual Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The team finished 12th overall in the 6000 meter race in a field of 20 teams. 

The Cardinals were led by freshman standout Riley Corey who finished the race in 23:40.1 with a mile pace of 6:21 which was good for a 16th place finish in an elite field of competition. 

She was followed by senior Gabriella Dunkelberg who finished the 6K in 24:41.9, just over a minute after her teammate. Dunkelberg secured 53rd place with her finish. Taylor Kennard rounded out the top three finishers for Fisher as the senior finished in 70th place after running a 25:05.5.

The Cardinals and averaged a team time of 25:01.5 as the ladies faced competition of eight of the the top ten teams in the Atlantic Region and knocked off No. 2 RPI.

Corey Named Runner of the Week for Second Time

This is Corey's second time as the conference's runner of the week in her freshman season. The Waterloo native had the best time of any women's runner in the E8 at the 28th Annual Ronald C. Hoffman Invitational hosted by St. Lawrence University on Saturday. Corey completed the 6000-meter race in 23:40.1 to take 16th place overall and lead the Cardinals to a 12th place finish in the team standings. 

Corey Paces Women's Cross Country to First Place Finish at ESF Mighty Oak Invite

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country team swept the ESF Mighty Oak Invite as the Cardinals made a first place finish with five individual top-ten finishes. 

Riley Corey ran the fastest time of the day as she won a first place finish by posting a time of 19:51.9. The freshman sensation paced a 6:24 mile in the 5000 meter race. 

Her teammate, Gabriella Dunkelberg, followed directly behind as the senior finished in 20:13.9. Her 6:31 mile pace won her a second place finish in the contest.

Taylor Kennard won fourth place for the Cardinals as the senior crossed the finish line in 20:43.1 and paced a 6:41 mile. 

The top ten was rounded out by Morgan Gould, who finished in eighth place, and Alivia Collins, who finished in ninth place. 

Another Week, Another Award; Corey Named Runner of the Week for Third Time

This was both Corey's and Ford's third time as Runner of the Week for the E8 with Corey earning all three in last four weeks. Corey ran the fastest time at the ESF Mighty Oak Invite in Tully on Saturday with a time of 19.51.9 in the 5k run. 
 
The women's team ended up with five runners in the top nine, earning first place in the team rankings. It was only the second time the Cardinals have captured an Invite title in program history. 

Three Top-10 Finishes Leads Fisher to Second Place in Empire 8 Championship

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country team completed its 2019 conference season on Saturday as the Cardinals posted a second place finish in the Empire 8 Championship. The Cardinals had a meet-tying-best three competitors finish in the top ten of the 6,000 meter race.
 
Freshman Riley Corey led the pack after the first 2,000 meters of the race, but strong competition pushed her to a third place finish. Her mile pace of 6:19 was only five seconds off the first-place finisher's time. Corey's final time of 23:32.1 marks her best 6K time in her early collegiate career.
 
Seniors Gabriella Dunkelberg and Taylor Kennard made back-to-back finishes as the two placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Dunkelberg crossed the finish line in 24:31.2 while her classmate, Kennard, finished in 24:36.0. Kennard's time was her personal best in the 6K.
 
All three in the top ten won themselves First-Team All-Conference honors for their notable finishes.
 
Morgan Gould (13th), Grace Cummings (14th), and Alivia Collins (16th) all received a Second-Team All-Empire 8 nod for their finishes within the top 20.

The Cardinals averaged a time of 24:38 and won themselves 45 points on the day. They were just two points and 11 seconds shy of the first-place finisher, Houghton.

Women's Cross Country Makes Second-Best NCAA Regional Finish in Program History

The St. John Fisher College women's cross country team competed at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships, hosted by St. Lawrence University on Saturday afternoon. The team finished 20th out of 38 teams in the 6000-meter race, the team's second-best finish in the NCAA Regional in program history.
 
Freshman Riley Corey made her mark known at the finish line as she crossed in 24:06.5 for 61st place. Her 6:28 mile pace led the Cardinals and was the 10th best time for a freshman in the race.
 
Seniors Gabriella Dunkelberg and Taylor Kennard followed behind as the pair finished 112th and 117th, respectively. Dunkelberg finished in 25:05.7 and paced a 6:44 while Kennard crossed in 25:13.3 and paced a mile just two seconds slower than her classmate.
 
Morgan Gould (128th place, 25:23.4) and Grace Cummings (153rd place, 25:59.0) rounded out the top five finishers for the Cardinals.
 
Fisher averages a time of 25:09.7, which was just under two minutes behind Geneseo, who finished in first place.

Corey Earns Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Honor as Six Named All-Conference

Freshman sensation Riley Corey of the St. John Fisher College women's cross country program was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year following the 2019 season as the conference released its postseason recognition on Tuesday.  In all, six members of the women's team were named All-Conference after their performances over the course of the season.

A three-time Empire 8 Runner of the week this year, Corey, who was also named First-Team All-Conference, became the first member of the women's program to ever be tabbed Rookie of the Year as the Waterloo native burst onto the scene in a big way.  Corey helped lead Fisher to four finishes inside the top three and posted three top-five individual finishes over her inaugural season including a first place showing in the ESF Mighty Oak Invite.

Corey's performances continued to improve throughout the season as she continually lowered her personal best en route to a third place showing in the Empire 8 Championships where the Cardinals finished second overall.

Two more Cardinals were named First-Team All-Empire 8 including Gabriella Dunkelberg and Taylor Kennard.  Dunkelberg, who was named Second-Team All-Conference a season ago, posted three top-10 finishes as the senior placed second at the ESF Mighty Oak Invite and would go on to take seventh in the Empire 8 Championship earlier this month.  Kennard also fared well in postseason competition as she took eighth place in the Empire 8 Championship meet with a time of 24:36.0.

Sophomore Morgan Gould and freshman Grace Cummings were named Second-Team All-Empire 8 as the duo placed 13th and 14th, respectively, in the conference championship. Sophomore Alivia Collins was also tabbed Second-Team All-Conference after a 16th place showing in the Empire 8 Championship with a finishing time of 25:24.7.

In addition, Collins was selected as the team's representatives on the conference's 2019 Cross Country Sportswoman of the Year Team.  "The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "competing with honor and integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. "

Both Cross Country Teams Named All-Academic by USTFCCCA

The St. John Fisher College men's and women's cross country teams have been honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as Division III All-Academic Teams. 
 
This is the eighth-straight year the women's team has earned the recognition while it is the fourth-straight year for the men. For a team to be considered for the distinction, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional meet and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.10 on a 4.0 scale. The Fisher women scored a 3.5 GPA and the men recorded a 3.36 GPA. 
 
Under Head Coach Mike Henchen, the women's squad produced its second-highest finish in program history at the Atlantic Regionals in November while the men registered their highest finish in the past three seasons. 
 
Overall, 212 women's teams and 172 men's teams across the Div. III level garnered All-Academic status.