Cross Country 3rd out of 43 at James Earley Invite

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Participating in the largest meet in team history, Wellesley College cross country finished third overall at the 2012 James Earley Invitational hosted by Westfield State University on Saturday at Holyoke Community College. The Blue were competing against 43 total teams in a 6K race on the same course that will host the 2012 NCAA Regional.

Wellesley placed all scoring runners in the top-50 of the 453-runner field. Leading the way was senior Ada Smith who took 23rd place in 23:28.35, while sophomore Vanessa Wilkins finished soon after, taking 26th place in 23:31.65. Amherst's Keri Lambert took individual honors at the meet, running a 21:30.11.

Sophomore Taylor Bickford was next across the line for the Blue, running a 23:44.55 to finish in 36th place. Rounding out the scoring runners, senior Cristina Lucas placed 43rd, while first-year Priyanka Fouda took 50th. Lucas finished in 23:57.96, with Fouda running a 24:12.67.

Wrapping up the highlights for the Blue, the team got strong performances from senior Sara Putterman and three first-year runners, who all finished in the top-90. Putterman led the way, finishing 56th in 24:16.60 while Alessandra Gavin took 59th place overall, finishing in 24:23.17. Victoria Lee (25:02.24) and Sharon Ng (25:03.16) took 89th and 90th places respectively.

As a team, Wellesley finished third behind Middlebury, ranked #3 nationally, and Amherst, ranked #20 nationally. The Blue also topped each of the seven other NEWMAC schools competing at the event.

Wellesley is back in action on Saturday, hosting the 2012 Seven Sisters Cross Country Championship at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley.