Wellesley Cross Country Wins Seven Sisters Championship
WELLESLEY, Mass. – Host Wellesley College took home the team title at the 31st Seven Sisters Cross Country Championship, held at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. The 5k event featured 94 runners from six teams, as Wellesley welcomed Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, St. Catherine University and Vassar College.
Bryn Mawr senior Kristina Kronauer was the individual champion at the event, crossing the finish line in a swift 17:53. She topped Vassar junior Aubree Piepmeier (18:12) and Smith first-year Danielle Opatovsky (18:13) who finished in second and third respectively. Kronauer's first place finish marked the first time in the 31-year history of the event that a Bryn Mawr runner took top honors.
Wellesley finished with a team score of 44, topping second-place Vassar who recorded 65 total points. The Blue were aided by tight pack running with all scorers finishing in the top-13 at the event. St. Catherine finished in third place overall with 87 points, followed by Smith (93), Bryn Mawr (105) and Mount Holyoke (138).
Today's victory marked the ninth team championship for Wellesley and the first since 2009. The Blue lead the overall field with their nine wins, followed by Smith with seven, Haverford with five, and Mount Holyoke with three. Vassar, Swarthmore and Columbia each won the event twice, while Barnard won one, the first ever contested in 1982.
Kronauer, Piepmeier and Opatovsky were the first three representatives on the All-Seven Sisters team. They were joined by Vassar's Kelly Holmes, Wellesley's Priyanka Fouda, Ada Smith, and Cristina Lucas, Bryn Mawr's Claudia Keep, and St. Catherine's Ailee Larson and Emily Sweet.
Fouda, a first-year, led the Blue across the line, recording a time of 18:29, good for fifth overall. She was followed by seniors Smith and Lucas, who finished in seventh and eighth, with times of 18:36 and 18:37. Lucas is a three-time All-Seven Sisters runner, while Fouda and Smith made their first appearance on the team.
Following Fouda, Smith and Lucas, Wellesley's final two scorers also recorded top-13 finishes. Sophomore Vanessa Wilkins took 11th overall in 18:42, while sophomore Taylor Bickford placed 13th in 18:54.
First-years Victoria Lee (19:07) and Laura Brindley (19:18) were the next across the line for the Blue, finishing in 16th and 17th places. Senior Sara Putterman (19:12) and first-year Alessandra Gavin (19:18) rounded out the top-20 finishes for Wellesley, taking 18th and 19th places.
Blue cross country is back in action on Saturday, hosting the 2012 Wellesley Invitational, a 5k event run on campus. The meet begins at 11:00am.
2012 All-Seven Sisters Team
Wellesley with the team trophy
Wellesley Seniors
All Seven Sisters Team
1. Kristina Kronauer, Bryn Mawr College - 17:53
2. Aubree Piepmeier, Vassar College - 18:12
3. Danielle Opatovsky, Smith - 18:13
4. Kelly Holmes, Vassar College - 18:21
5. Priyanka Fouda, Wellesley College - 18:29
6. Claudia Keep, Bryn Mawr College - 18:30
7. Ada Smith, Wellesley College - 18:36
8. Cristina Lucas, Wellesley College - 18:37
9. Ailee Larson, St. Catherine - 18:39
10. Emily Sweet, St. Catherine - 18:40
1. Wellesley, 44
2. Vassar, 65
3. St. Catherine, 87
4. Smith, 93
5. Bryn Mawr, 105
6. Mount Holyoke, 138