Sophomore Ester Zar broke the Batten University women's cross country 5K school record as the Marlins turned in a strong team performance to finish second overall at the SU Twilight Open on Friday evening at Kernstown Battlefield.

Zar led the Marlins with a runner-up finish, completing the 5K course in a school-record time of 18:18.1. She finished just 5.6 seconds behind the individual champion and set the pace for a Batten squad that placed three runners inside the top five.

Freshmen Madison Coutinho and Ella Moskowitz joined Zar near the front of the field with back-to-back top-five finishes. Coutinho crossed the line fourth overall in 19:51.7, while Moskowitz finished fifth with a time of 19:52.2.

Senior Abby Peck was the fourth Marlin across the line, finishing 13th overall in 21:24.9. Sophomore Samantha Lyman completed Batten's scoring five, crossing the line 16th overall in 21:57.3 and accounting for the 15th scoring position.

The Marlins finished with 39 points, just eight behind meet champion VMI with 31. Batten's five scoring positions were second, fourth, fifth, 13th and 15th.