Gavin Leads Blue XC to 6th Place Finish at Southern Maine

PORTLAND, Maine -- The Wellesley College cross country team finished sixth out of 19 teams at the 2013 Southern Maine Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The 5k race was hosted by the University of Southern Maine.

Wellesley's runners finished in a tight pack, as all seven of the Blue's top finishers ranked in the top 57 of the 243-runner field. Sophomore Alessandra Gavin led the way for Wellesley, ranking 24th overall in a time of 18:50.69, while first-year Mary Keenan finished 34th in 19:06.84.

Also scoring for the Blue, were first-year Alice Zhou, junior Alexandra Dunn, and sophomore Priyanka Fouda. Zhou ranked 39th in a time of 19:14:16, while Dunn finished in 19:17.51. Fouda rounded out the scorers with a time of 19:26.64.

Grabbing spots in the top seven for the Blue were first-year Sonja Cwik and sophomore Sharon Ng. Cwik ranked 49th in a time of 19:28.11, while Ng finished 57th in 19:37.58.

Next for Wellesley, junior Nicole Chui finished 58th in 19:38.98, while first-year Sara Vannah ranked 60th in 19:40.52. First-year Edie Sharon, sophomore Laura Brindley, and first-year Kelsey Cathcart rounded out the highlights for the Blue, each finishing in the top-75. Edie ranked 69th in 19:56.64, Brindley finished 72nd in 20:00.19, and Cathcart placed 74th in 20:02.67.

Blue cross country will next return home to host the 2013 Wellesley Invitational. The event will begin at 10:30am and will be run around Wellesley's 5k course on Lake Waban.