Sept. 9, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Wake Forest senior Michelle Sikes beat the field by more than 23 seconds to win the individual women's cross country race at the Lou Onesty Invitational here Saturday morning. Sikes cruised to the win ahead of 113 runners representing 11 teams.

Virginia, running on its home Panorama Farms Course, placed all five of its runners in the top 11 to win the team title, 29-41, over Wake Forest. The Deacons finished second, 12 points behind the Cavaliers, despite an impressive display of depth. Demon Deacon runners finished, fourth, sixth and seventh.

William & Mary finished third behind Virginia and Wake Forest. Liberty finished fourth, followed by High Point, Clemson, Elon, Radford, VCU, Longwood and Concord.

Sikes competed the 6k course with a time of 17:20. Virginia's Emily Harrison finished second at 17:43, followed by Virginia's Katie Read (17:49) and Wake's Caitlin Chrisman (17:55).

Other Wake Forest runners included Allie Kieffer (6th place/18:25), Erin Franklin (7th/18:31), Mary Alice Howard (23rd/19:20), Merry Placer (29th/19:47) and Liz Hankinson (43rd/20:26).

Wake Forest returns to action Sept. 29 at the Oregon Invitational.

Team Scores Virginia 29 Wake Forest 41 William & Mary 75 Liberty 118 High Point 149 Clemson 167 Elon 169 Radford 254 VCU 273 Longwood 275 Concord 328

Top Individuals Michelle Sikes, Wake Forest 17:20 Emily Harrison, Virginia 17:43 Katie Read, Virginia 17:49 Caitlin Chrisman, Wake Forest 17:55 Kara Scanlin, Virginia 18:06

Wake Forest Runners Michelle Sikes (1st) 17:20 Caitlin Chrisman (4th) 17:55 Allie Kieffer (6th) 18:25 Erin Franklin (7th) 18:31 Mary Alice Howard (23rd) 19:20 Merry Placer (29th) 19:47 Liz Hankinson (43rd) 20:26