First-Years Lead Wellesley Cross Country to Second at Smith Invitational

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The Wellesley College cross country team earned  a second place finish out of 18 teams at the 2013 Smith College Invitational. The Blue used strong finishes from its underclasswomen, as six of the team's top seven finishers were first-years or sophomores.

Leading the way on the 5k course, was first-year Alice Zhou who took third overall (204 finishers), with a time of 19:45.84. Classmates Mary Keenan and Meg Kelly also recorded top-ten finishes for the Blue, as Keenan ranked seventh overall (20:03.03) and Kelly finished ninth (20:11.67).

Junior Nicole Chui was Wellesley's next finisher, recording a 12th-place performance in 20:17.59. Sophomore Sharon Ng then rounded out the scoring runners, recording a time of 20:35.31 to finish 18th overall. 

Following Wellesley's scorers, five other Blue athletes recorded top-50 finishes at the event. First-years Sonja Cwik and Sara Vannah were the next Blue runners across the line, as Cwik took 26th in 20:49.74, and Vannah placed 31st in 20:56.19.

Junior Alexandra Dunn took 33rd overall at the event, recording a time of 20:57.73, while sophomore Carolyn Chelius and first-year Kelsey Cathcart rounded out the top-50 finishers for the Blue. Chelius ranked 43rd overall with a 21:14.25, while Cathcart finished 49th in a time of 21:22.00.

Today's event marked the first Wellesley race for newly appointed head coach, Phil Jennings. 

Wellesley cross country returns to action on Saturday, September 21st, traveling to Maine for the University of Southern Maine Invitational.