Wellesley Cross Country Runs to Runner-Up Honors at Keene St. Invitational

KEENE, N.H. --  Junior Grace Cowles (Yarmouth, Maine) finished in tenth place with a personal record (PR) time of 18:43.9 to lead Wellesley College cross country to a runner-up performance on Saturday at the Keene State Invitational.

Williams (37 points) took first, followed by the Blue (75), who finished ahead of third place Brandeis (131) and fourth place Westfield (131). Wheaton (184) was fifth in the field of 19 teams.

Senior Eva Paradiso (Burlington, Vt.) finished in 13th place, just behind Cowles, with a time of 18:48.9. Sophomore Maya Bradbury (Freeport, Maine) followed in 15th place with a 5K PR of 18:53.8, while senior Keiko Hilmo (Saint Paul, Minn.) also registered a 5K PR of 18:58.2 (17th place). Junior April Chu (Fremont, Calif.) added a 20th place finish in 19:11.9, also a 5K PR, to give the Blue four runners in the top-20.

Five more Blue runners recorded 5K PRs on Saturday, including: senior Elizabeth Wegman (East Sandwich, Mass.) in 21st place (19:12.8), junior Samara Shaz (New York, N.Y.) in 30th place (19:31.0), first year Claire Anderson (Denver, Colo.) in 55th (20:25.1), first year Ellie Murphy-Weise (San Francisco, Calif.) in 66th (20:27.2), and first year Bethany Pasko (Wellesley, Mass.) in 136th (22:29.1).

Rounding out the times for the Blue, senior Taylor Mahlandt (Ephrata, Pa) finished in 32nd place with a time of 19:34.6, sophomore Natalie Li (Charlottesville, Va.) was 64th (20:25.1), and senior Fiona Harrigian (San Marino, Calif.) was in 86th place (20:50.3).

Wellesley has the team's final tune-up before the 2019 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships in two weeks, when the Blue travel to Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Conn. for the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, October 19 at 12:15 PM.