Cross Country Places Seventh at NCAA Regional

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Wellesley College cross country team earned its fourth straight-top ten finish at the NCAA New England Regional on Saturday. The Blue finished seventh out of 51 teams at the 6K event held at Westfield State University.

Wellesley's top five runners each finished in the top 20% of the 367-competitor field. The Blue were led by first-year Priyanka Fouda and seniors Randelle Boots and Cristina Lucas, who each recorded top-50 finishes.

Fouda was Wellesley's first runner across the line, covering the course in a time of 22:28.90 and finishing in 34th place. Her finish earned her All-New England and NCAA All-Region honors. Boots recorded a time of 22:44.09 to finish in 46th place, while Lucas placed 50th in a personal best time of 22:48.04.

Next across the line for the Blue were senior Sara Putterman and sophomore Taylor Bickford, each recording personal best times. Putterman placed 61st overall in 22:59.50, while Bickford rounded out the Wellesley scorers with a 67th-place finish in 23:03.03. 

The Blue's sixth and seventh runners also raced well, as sophomore Vanessa Wilkins finished 69th in 23:05.17 and senior Ada Smith placed 79th in 23:15.68. Both times were career bests. 

As a team, Wellesley placed seventh overall, compiling 258 points. National number one and NEWMAC-rival, MIT, won the event with 58 points, followed by a pair of NESCAC teams in Williams (75) and Middlebury (89). 

Individually, senior Keri Lambert of Amherst crossed the finish line first, winning the event with a time of 20:48.94. Middlebury senior Addie Tousley (21:07.13) finished second followed by Williams junior Kaleigh Kenny (21:29.91).