As Penn women's cross country captain Sam Desposito approached a daunting hill in the middle of the second mile at Saturday's Leopard Invitational, she felt a pang of fatigue.
As she questioned where the energy to continue would come from, fellow Penn runner Kristen Koch approached her from behind.
"We've got to go get Claire [Duncan]," said Koch, referring to a teammate running just ahead.
That was the only encouragement the veteran needed.
The two runners soon caught up with Duncan and the three finished the race together. Duncan crossed the finish line in ninth place with a time of 21:53. She was followed two seconds later by Desposito, who placed 10th. And Koch was only three seconds behind Desposito, in 11th place.
With such teamwork, it is no wonder the Quakers took first place overall at the invite, held in Easton, Pa.
Leading the way was sophomore Abbi Gleeson, who won her second individual crown of the year with a time of 21:12.
"She executed her race plan well," Penn coach Cricket Batz-Shaklee said of Gleeson, who has consistently finished first for the Red and Blue this season.
And although Batz-Shaklee is undoubtedly thrilled by the performances of her core group -- Gleeson, Desposito, Duncan and Koch -- it was Erin Okawa who made the race special for the coach.
Okawa was asked to step in as Penn's fifth runner after Elaina Lord was sidelined with tendonitis of the knee, and her top-30 finish solidified the victory for the Quakers.
Okawa herself is no stranger to injuries. She has suffered five stress fractures over the last year, leaving her unable to compete regularly.
But the sophomore didn't let any nagging pains slow her down on Saturday, finishing in a time of 22:34.
"We needed somebody, and she came through," Batz-Shaklee said of Okawa.
With this burst of momentum behind them and touting such a cohesive group of athletes, the Quakers look forward with high expectations to the upcoming championship season. The first of these meets is the Heptagonal Championships, held on Oct. 26 in New York's Van Cortlandt Park.
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