Samorin, Slovakia – Just three weeks after leading the San Francisco women's cross country team to a program-best second place finish at the NCAA Championships, All-American Charlotte Taylor has another honor to boast. Taylor raced to a sixth-place individual finish and helped Team Great Britain capture the senior crown at the 24th SPAR European Cross Country Championships on Sunday morning.

Taylor finished in sixth place with a time of 27:23 – just two seconds out of fifth – after being edged out by USF alumni, Elena Burkard. Taylor paced the Great Britain and NI runners, with Emelia Groecka (8th) and Gemma Steel (9th) rounding out the scorers.
 
"Charlotte really went for it the last 4K of her race and was driving the chase group throughout, while Elena was able stay right with her," said USF assistant coach Benji Wetli. "It was awesome to see them finish within a few seconds of each other so far up in the elite field."
 
Burkard, lacing up for her native Germany, crossed the line just ahead of Taylor in a time of 27:21. Led by Burkard, Germany landed sixth in the team standings.
 
"Both Burkard and Taylor were the top woman from their countries - a feat not easily accomplished with both of them being among the youngest in the field," added Wetli.
 
In the U23 race, Isabelle Brauer and Weronika Pyzik saw success. Running for Sweden, Brauer turned in an impressive sixth place time of 21:09. Led by the USF sophomore, Team Sweden finished fourth in the team standings. Pyzik, representing her native Poland, finished eighth with a time of 21:18.
 
"Isabelle ran a gusty race, putting herself right in the mix to be top 5 and ran with a lot of confidence," said Wetli. "Weronika was right behind her the whole way and both had impressive finishes in a race loaded with world class talent."
 
Also toeing the line in the field was soon-to-be Don Philippa Bowden. She crossed the line in 13th, clocking in with a time of 21:29. Her Great Britain and NI side took home the gold medal in the U23 race.
 
"Phily was very tough and moved up throughout the race, all the way to 13th and she was rewarded with a gold medal in the team standings for Great Britain," explained Wetli.

On the men' side, NCAA West All-Region competitor Jack Rowe finished the U23 course in a time of 25:25 to take 31st place. Also seeing the podium with the Great Britain and NI team, as they finished third in the team standings with 41 total points.

"Earning bronze for Great Britain in the U23 men's race and finishing 31st overall, Jack ran a solid race throughout, despite being in a very congested field," said Wetli.
 

With five counters inside the top-15, the Brits claim the team title ahead of Romania and Turkey. pic.twitter.com/ZyBn48RxGy

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) December 10, 2017