Ashley Bitler led Eastern University Women's Cross Country against a deep and talented field at the 44th Annual Mike Woods Invitational at Letchworth State Park hosted by SUNY Geneseo. The Eagles, racing for the first time in nearly a month, finished in 14th place.

With the Paul Short races canceled because of heat, the Eastern women came into today's race after an uncharacteristically long gap in the schedule. The race today, provided the Eagles with their first test getting off the line against a big field. Bitler started the race in the middle of the pack and gained ground throughout. After the opening two kilometers, she held her pace and passed 14 competitors over the next two kilometers. She finished in 43rd place overall.

Tierra Hill ran a similar strategy and passed 34 runners over the final four kilometers to break into the top 100 overall. Talia Fogel, Kaleigh Newsome, and Ashley Medina finished in a tight bunch.

National No. 2 NYU won the race and number 14 Carnegie Mellon finished second. The host Knights finished third.

The Eagles will race at Lebanon valley next Friday before racing at Stevenson for the MAC Championships on Halloween.