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SALISBURY, Md. – The Slippery Rock University women's cross country team opened its 2010 season with a third-place finish at the Sea Gull Invitational Saturday at Salisbury University.

The Rock was without the services of All-American Jen Harpp, who will not open her season until later this fall.

Harpp being out of the lineup didn't effect The Rock's presence at the front of the race, however, as fellow senior Crystal Burnick crossed the line first to win the individual title. Burnick covered the 6,000-meter course in a time of 21:30.

Caitlin Hancox was the second Rock finisher, placing 14th in a time of 23:28. Becky Younger finished 15th in 23:30, followed by Danielle Mostachetti in 23rd at 23:59. Stephanie Turak rounded out the scorers with a 27th-place finish in 24:07.

“Crystal ran a great race up front,” said head coach John Papa. “We got some solid performances from the newcomers and overall we're pleased with how things went today, being the first meet of the year.”

Loyola won the team title with a combined score of 32 points, followed by Rowan in second with 63 points and SRU in third with a score of 104.

The Rock will rest next weekend before competing in back-to-back weekends at home, beginning with the Friday night quad meet Sept. 17 and concluding with the SRU Invitational the following Saturday.