AMBLER, Pa.—Sophomore Kinsey Pogue (Danville, Calif.) finished strong and was the individual champion at the Temple Owls Cross Country Invitational on Friday evening. Villanova opened its 2023 season with a 4,000 meter race on the Ambler satellite campus and beat out the host Owls and La Salle in the local meet. Pogue covered the course in 15:16.9 and held off the runner-up from Temple by three-tenths of a second at the finish line.
 
Friday's meet was the first cross country event to be held at the Ambler athletic complex which is home to several fields and other facilities. The lineup for the Wildcats consisted of the team's middle distance runners who combined for four of the top six finishers in the 4K race. Villanova is just beginning its preparation for the bulk of the 2023 season schedule still to come.
 
Pogue was followed in the Wildcats lineup by the trio of senior Elizabeth Vaughn (Dayton, Ohio), fifth year Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) and junior Alex Stasichin (Massapequa, N.Y.) who placed fourth through sixth overall. Vaughn crossed the finish line in 15:39.8, while Martinez (15:46.1) and Stasichin (15:48.1) were separated by just two seconds. The other finishers for Villanova were freshman Caelen O'Leary (Taunton, Mass.) who was 20^th in 17:22.3 and senior Kate Flynn (Gray, Tenn.) who came in 23^rd with a time of 17:50.7.
 
The team scores from the meet had the Wildcats in front with 33 points, followed by Temple (42) and La Salle (49).
 
Villanova will next be in action when it competes in a three-mile race at the Main Line Invitational on September 15.