Blue Cross Country Takes 3rd of 16 at Smith Invitational

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The Wellesley College cross country team placed all five scoring runners in the top-30 as the Blue raced to a third place finish at the 2014 Smith Invitational. The event kicked off the season for the Blue.

Wellesley recorded 100 team points to rank third overall in the 16-team field. The Blue finished behind only Amherst College (42) and Connecticut College (84) and were the top placing NEWMAC school in the field.

Leading the way for the Blue was senior Taylor Bickford who finished 11th overall in a time of 20:15.70. Sophomore Mary Keenan was the nest across the line, taking 15th place in 20:38.10. First-year Isabella King raced well in her first collegiate appearance, taking a top-20 spot in 20:52.90 (19th).

Wellesley sophomore Sara Vannah and first-year Taylor Fortnam also picked up top-30 performances, racing in the 196-runner field. Vannah placed 26th overall in 21:15.10, while Fortnam was 30th in 21:25.40. Wellesley juniors Sharon Ng and Alessandra Gavin were the next across the line, as Ng took 36th in 21:40.30 and Gavin was 58th in 22:23.10. 

Also finishing in the top half of the field for the Blue were junior Heather Smith, sophomore Sonja Cwik, and first-years Lili Considine and Clare Salerno. Smith ran a 22:41.10 (67th), Cwik finished in 23:25.20 (90th), while Consadine and Salerno finished in 95th (23:38.50) and 97th (23:46.10) places, respectively. 

The Blue are back in action on September 20th, hosting the Wellesley Invitational.