Posted by vjmrun on October 20, 2011

Emma Mahony said it was the best that the Villa Joseph Marie cross country team has run all season.

The Jems even earned the hardware to prove it.

Mahony finished in third place overall with a time of 19 minutes, 4.12 seconds — just three seconds ahead of fourth-place teammate Brenna Twomey.

Overall, the Jems had three finishers in the top 15 as they hoisted the AACA cross country championship’s team runner-up trophy for the first time in the event’s six-year history.

St. Basil Academy won the team championship team for the sixth straight year.

“As a team, it feels great,” said Mahony, who is no stranger to the AACA championship, having recorded the event’s sixth-best historical time (18:55.40) last year. “Brenna and I are usually out there with our individual times, but to place like this as a team means that our teammates were right there with us.

“We also had a little more confidence than usual. When the whole team is more confident, it seems like the results are more positive.”

“We felt good at the start, and even though I was a little over my goal of 19 minutes, I’m excited to help the team,” said Twomey, who is also in the event record books with last year’s 10:06.60. “It also has us feeling good as we’re preparing for districts next week.”

Villa Joseph Marie’s Stephanie Hughes came in 15th place overall with a time of 20:37.50.