PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 14, 2011) – Rutgers women’s cross country closed out the 2011 campaign with a 15th-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Saturday. The Scarlet Knights were led by sophomore Brianna Deming (Webster, N.Y.) who placed 55th.

“We achieved our goal of improving our overall performance from last year,” said head coach James Robinson. “We finished ranked in the Top 15 in our Region. It’s the first time we appeared in the Regional Ranking and it’s the most important time because it’s the final Regional Poll. All of our runners return next year so we look forward to their continued improvement. They did a very good job finishing the season up well and setting the stage for a great 2012 cross country season.”

Rutgers collected 429 points on the 6K course en route to the 15th-place showing. Deming posted a time of 23:25.1 to pace the squad. The next four runners finished in a cluster led by junior Victoria Pontecorvo (Staten Island, N.Y.) who placed 93rd (24:16.6), followed by sophomore Rashmi Singh (Flemington, N.J.) in 94th (24:17.3), freshman Allison Payenski (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) in 95th (24:17.4) and sophomore Ashley Deckert (Newfield, N.J.) in 97th (24:18.6. Also competing for the Scarlet Knights was junior Anjelica Brinkofski (Somerset, N.J.) and freshman Felicia O’Donnell (Franklinville, N.J.). Brinkofski finished 101st with a time of 24:22.1, while O’Donnell crossed the finish line 171st in 26:10.6.

Rutgers Individual Finishes

55     Brianna Deming                  23:25.1

93    Victoria Pontecorvo          24:16.6

94    Rashmi Singh                       24:17.3

95    Allison Payenski                  24:17.4

97    Ashley Deckert                   24:18.6

101  Anjelica Brinkofski             24:22.1

171  Felicia O'Donnell                 26:10.6

Women's 6K                                              Team Scores             

1        Villanova                                            57

1        Georgetown                                    57

3        West Virginia                                   64

4        Penn State                                        90

5        Princeton                                          124

6        La Salle                                               193

7        Navy                                                    197

8        Duquesne                                         261

9        Maryland                                           312

10     Loyola (Md.)                                    325

11     Penn                                                   332

12     Bucknell                                             342

13     St. Joseph's (Pa.)                            363

14     Towson                                              422

15     Rutgers                                              429

16     Monmouth                                       431

17     Lehigh                                                 457

18     Rider                                                   480

19     Delaware                                           564

20     Robert Morris                                  568

21     Lafayette                                           580

22     Temple                                               654

23     St. Francis (Pa.)                               682

24     Marshall                                             704

25     UMBC                                                 716

26     Pittsburgh                                         730

27     Seton Hall                                          736

28     Md-Eastern Shore                         840

29    New Jersey Institute                    858

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