Wellesley Runs To Victory At 2016 Seven Sisters XC Championship
WELLESLEY, Mass. – Host Wellesley College finished with two runners in the top-five to secure the team's third consecutive Seven Sisters Cross Country championship on Sunday at Nehoiden Golf Course. The title is the twelfth in program history for the Blue.
Smith College senior Katie Stephens (Bozeman, Mont.) captured the individual title, finishing with a time of 22:31.2 to become the first individual winner for the Pioneers since Nora Youngs won the event in 2008.
The Blue amassed a team score of 42 points to finish ahead of second place Vassar College (52), third place St. Catherine University (62) and fourth place Smith (90). Simmons College (129), Bryn Mawr College (173) and Mount Holyoke College (187) rounded out the field on Sunday.
Wellesley seniors Sonja Cwik (La Canada, Calif.) and Edie Sharon (Winchester, Mass.) finished second and third overall to help bolster the Blue's team score. Cwik completed the course in 22:45.2, while Sharon finished in 22:49.4. St. Catherine senior Rachel Hall (Mendota Heights, Minn.) followed the Blue duo across the line in fourth place with a time of 22:50.3. Vassar senior Lucy Balcezak (New Haven, Conn.) was fifth with a time of 22:51.4, while Wellesley senior Sara Vannah (Amherst, Mass.) took sixth in 22:55.5 and Bryn Mawr junior Kate Edwards (Malvern, Pa.) earned the last spot on the All-Seven Sisters First Team with a time of 23:03.0.
Also competing for the host Blue, junior Taylor Fortnam (Portola Valley, Calif.) ran to a time of 23:16.8 to garner All-Seven Sisters second team honors in 12th place. First year Eva Paradiso (Burlington, Vt.) had a solid showing in her first Seven Sisters race, taking 19th in 23:45.5. Sophomore Catherine Xie (Newton, Mass.) was 41st in 24:57.4, while junior Clare Salerno (Johnson, Vt.) was 54th in 25:34.9 and first year Elizabeth Lambert (Kensington, Md.) was 59th in 25:51.0. First year Sophie Dolan (Austin, Texas) completed Wellesley's team on Sunday, taking 70th in 26:56.7.
Wellesley College cross country will now turn its attention to the 2016 New England Women's & Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) Championship on Saturday, October 29, at Smith College. The Blue finished as NEWMAC runner-up in 2015.
2016 Seven Sisters Cross Country Championship
Team Standings
Wellesley, 42 points
Vassar, 52 points
St. Catherine, 62 points
Smith, 90 points
Simmons, 129 points
Bryn Mawr, 173 points
Mount Holyoke, 187 points
All-Seven Sisters
First Team
Katherine Stephens, Smith
Sonja Cwik, Wellesley
Edie Sharon, Wellesley
Rachel Hall, St. Catherine
Lucy Balcezak, Vassar
Sara Vannah, Wellesley
Kate Edwards, Bryn Mawr
Second Team
Leighlin Ahlstrom, St. Catherine
Meghan Cook, Vassar
Courtney Kirkeide, St. Catherine
Christiana Prater-Lee, Vassar
Taylor Fortnam, Wellesley
Laura MacDonald, Vassar
Cameron Daddis, Vassar
