MARYVILLE, Tenn.- Junior Abby Ward led the VMI women's cross country team to an eighth place finish at the University of Tennessee Invitational, held on Friday afternoon at the Lambert Acres Golf Course in Maryville, Tenn. The 14th-ranked Lady Volunteers of Tennessee won the team event by placing seven runners in the top 11, while Chattanooga's Lanni Marchant took the individual title.

Running without sophomore Ania Najda, the team's top competitor this season, the Keydets saw Ward and freshman Kathryn Stephens turn in personal bests to help the team finish eighth of the 11 competing teams. The Keydets defeated Bryan, Tennessee State and Maryville, while finishing just five points back of Austin Peay.

"To have the girls run personal bests this early in the season on a slow course is really encouraging," said head coach Paul Spangler. "As a team, we ran much better at this race than at our home race, which is what I expected. I was really pleased with the efforts of Abby and Kathryn, and if we had Ania healthy, then we would have beaten Austin Peay for seventh place."

Ward recorded a 21:05 over the 5,000 meter course, while sophomore Christina Mowatt-Larssen came in just behind at 21:19. Sophomore Kelsey Stafford completed the course at 21:53, while freshmen Kathryn Stephens (22:23) and Cathi Ecklund (23:06) provided the final scoring for the Keydets.

The team returns to action in two weeks, as they head north to Pennsylvania for the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh on Friday, Sept. 29.