STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Seawolves' women's cross country team got the 2022 season started with a strong showing at the annual Stony Brook Season Opener on Saturday morning. Stony Brook tied for first-place as a team as it registered 46 points to tie for the top spot with Quinnipiac.
 
Junior Fiona McLoughlin led the pack for the Seawolves as she was the individual winner of the race. It marked the second year in a row that the Dix Hills native earned a first-place finish in the Seawolves' opening meet.
 
As a team, Stony Brook had six runners finish within the top six of the 4K race with three of the six earning top 10 finishes. Junior Nicole Garcia crossed the finish line in fifth-place, while sophomore Grace Weigele took home ninth-place.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• McLoughlin set the tone for the Seawolves as she recorded a first-place time of 14:15.4 and ran an average mile time of 9:12.8. McLoughlin won the race by nearly 15 seconds as the next closest finisher was Columbia's Rory Clare who came in second with a time of 14:29.4.
• Garcia recorded the next-best finish for the Seawolves as she came in fifth-place with a final time of 14:31.0. Garcia ran at a 9:22.9 pace per mile.
• Weigele claimed ninth-place as she had a strong race finishing in 14:35.1 and clocked an average mile time of 9:25.5.
• Freshman Jade Pazmino, graduate Samantha Rutt, and Niamh Durcan all tallied top 20 finishes. Pazmino came in 14^th-place with a time of 14:59.7, Rutt crossed the finish line in 17^th-place with a time of 15:07.0, and Durcan rounded out the Seawolves in the top 20 in 20^th-place with a time of.  

QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Really nice opening day for both teams. We have been training hard since returning to campus three weeks ago so it was nice to get everyone out in a competitive environment and see how they would react. Nice pack running by the guys, strong running up front, and we have good depth to back that up.
 
On the women's side, Fiona took control of the race early and looked composed throughout. The rest of the group competed well, and definitely see the signs that we can be a very good team by the end of October.
 
So overall, a good first day, but plenty of work to be done as we move forward through the season," said head coach Andy Ronan.
 
NEXT UP
Stony Brook is back on the trail on Friday, September 9, when it travels to Attleboro, Mass. to compete in the Friar Invitational.
 
For an inside look at the Seawolves women's cross country program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.