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JONES, RAMS RUN STRONG AT WINTHROP INVITATIONAL ROCK HILL, S.C. – In the 2009 preview for the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s cross country team, Assistant Women's Track & Field Coach and Director of Cross Country Ethan Tussing mentioned freshman Ariana Jones (Sterling, Va.) as the “sleeper” on the squad. Just two meets into her college career, Jones is making Tussing look like Nostradamus. Last week, she finished as the Rams second best finisher, this week at the Winthrop Invitational, Jones led the squad with a time of 19:31.65 in just her first race at the 5k distance. “Ariana continues to perform at a high level for us,” Tussing said. “She had another strong week this week and it’s really phenomenal the transition she has made since she didn’t have any prior cross country experience before coming here.” Overall, the Black & Gold finished sixth out of 14 teams with three performers in the top 31. “I’m really pleased with the way we ran this week,” Tussing said. “We ran together as a pack once again and worked well within our squad. As a team, we averaged 20:04 at just our first race at the 5k distance. That’s the fastest time we’ve ran since I’ve been here and we’re definitely taking steps in the right direction.” Sophomores Heather DelaCruz (Williamsburg, Va.) and Nicole Walters (Orange, Va.) rounded out the top three finishers for VCU. DelaCruz finished 27th with a time of 19:45.05, while Walters posted a personal best of 19:57.87 for a 31st place finished. The Rams are back in action in two weeks when they make the trip to Greensboro, N.C. for the Hagan Stone Park Invitational on Oct. 3rd.
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