Poto Leads Women's Cross Country at ECSU Tri-Meet

MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Led by meet champion Danielle Poto (North Andover, Mass.), the Bridgewater State University women's cross country team placed second out of three teams in a tri-meet held at Mansfield Hollow State Park in Mansfield, Connecticut.

Poto, a sophomore, covered the 5,000-meter course in a time of 20:27 as she edged Eastern Connecticut's Kelly Labanara by nine seconds.

Eastern Connecticut won the meet with a score of 23 points while BSU finished with 41 points and University of Saint Joseph tallied 73 points.

Sophomore Natalya Riberdy (Feeding Hills, Mass.) was next across the line for the Bears in eighth place with a time of 22:19, while freshman Brittany Reed (Plymouth, Mass.) finished ninth with a time of 22:21.

Sophomores Rachel Ducharme (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Emily Ducharme (North Attleboro, Mass.) finished in 11th and 12th place, respectively, for the Bears.  Rachel Ducharme posted a time of 22:37, while Emily Ducharme completed the race with a time of 22.50.

Junior Stephanie Ward-Smith (Smithfield, R.I.) placed 13th (24:27) while classmate Joyce Simon (Norton, Mass.) finished 16th overall (25:05) to round out the BSU harriers.

Next Saturday, the Bears' cross country teams will compete at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.