Paradiso Leads Blue Cross Country to Runner-Up Finish at Bowdoin Invite

BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Senior Eva Paradiso (Burlington, Vt.) finished in fifth place to lead Wellesley College cross county to second place on Saturday at the 6K Bowdoin Invitational.

Paradiso recorded a collegiate 6K personal record (PR) of 23:24.9 as the Blue finished with a team score of 73. Coast Guard took the team title behind junior Kaitlyn Mooney's first place time of 21:48.5. Tufts (85) was third, while the host Polar Bears took fourth (99) and Colby (121) was fifth. Smith (136), Colby-Sawyer (188), and Plymouth State (220) rounded out the team standings. 

New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) runner of the week Grace Cowles (Yarmouth, Maine) finished in 10th place (23:45.9). Senior Keiko Hilmo (Saint Paul, Minn.) was the third Wellesley runner across the line, taking 13th place with a PR of 23:48.5. Sophomore Maya Bradbury (Freeport, Maine) in 22nd place (24:00.2) and senior Taylor Mahlandt (Ephrata, Pa) in 23rd place (24:02.9) closed out the scoring runners for the Blue. 

Senior Elizabeth Wegman (East Sandwich, Mass.) finished in 28th place with a 6K PR of 24:22.0, while junior Samara Shaz (New York, N.Y.) was one spot back in 29th place (24:36.4). First year Claire Anderson (Denver, Colo.), 49th place (25:28.3), and sophomore Kaylee Hill (Hingham, Mass.), 69th place (26:33.0 - PR), were the next two runners across for Wellesley. Also competing for the Blue, first year Ellie Murphy Weise (San Francisco, Calif.) took 79th (27:04.3), senior Fiona Harrigian (San Marino, Calif.) was 89th (27:37.8) and first year Bethany Pasko (Wellesley, Mass.) finished 97th (28:11.7). 

The Blue continue the season in two weeks at the Keene State Invitational on Saturday, October 5, at 11:00 AM.