No. 25 Cross Country Runs to 22nd Place Finish at NCAA Championships

MASON, Ohio -- Wellesley College cross country ran to a 22nd place finish at the 2014 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships at the Kings Golf Center in Mason, Ohio. Saturday's race was Wellesley's third appearance overall, and first since in 1986, at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. 

The Blue, who came in to the event ranked No. 25 in the nation, were led by senior Taylor Bickford. Bickford finished with a score of 70, thanks to a time of 23:11.6, in the final cross country race of her collegiate career. 

Junior Priyanka Fouda was the next member of the Blue to cross the line, completing the 6k course with a time of 23:26.6 for a score of 92. Fouda's score of 92 was just ahead of teammate Mary Keenan, as the sophomore finished with an overall score of 93, clocking a time of 23:27.2. 

Senior Nicole Chui earned the next highest score for the Blue, finishing at 146 thanks to a time of 23:51.6. Sophomore Alice Zhou's time of 24:14.9 was good for a score of 175 as she completed the course as the Blue's final scoring runner to round out Wellesley's overall team score of 576. 

Sophomore classmates Edie Sharon and Sonja Cwik also earned scores of 200 and 207, respectively. Sharon completed the course with a time of 24:40.8 while Cwik logged a time of 24:53.3.

Today's NCAA Championship completes the 2014 season for the Blue. In addition to today's result, Wellesley cross country closes out the fall with a fifth place finish at the NCAA Regionals, a seventh place finish at the ECAC Championships and a runner-up effort at the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Championships. In addition, the Blue earned their second Seven Sisters title in the last three years & tenth in program history.