BOONE, N.C.-  Amidst cloudy conditions and a talented field, the Queens University of Charlotte  women's cross country team ran to a 21st place finish out of 26 teams in the Appalachian State University's Blue Ridge Open.

 Using the race as a final pre-championship marker the team was lead by sophomore Jessica Neville (Cold Spring, N.Y., Haldane). 

Neville used a conservative race strategy to move up through the field and finished with a strong kick in 35th place. Her time of 19:11 marks a 45 second improvement from the same course a month ago. 

Finishing second for the Royals was freshmen Holly Annas (Granite Falls, N.C., South Caldwell)in a time of 20:21 for the difficult 5k course. Holding down the third spot was senior Katherine Carman (Terrace Park, Ohio, Ursuline Academy)who moved up through the field to help her teammates. 

Senior Chandler Tribble (Clinton, S.C., Laurens Academy)continued to surprise as the first time harrier ran her third personal best in three races with a time of 21:08. Rounding out the scoring for Queens was junior Sarah Khan (Miami, Fla., Hialeah Miami Lake)with a seasonal best time of 22:38.

Queens will compete at the Conference Carolina Championship on October 25, at Belmont Abbey College.