Cross Country Takes Tenth at Williams

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (Sept. 26, 2009) – The Mount Holyoke College women’s cross country team earned a tenth place finish at today’s Purple Valley Classic, hosted by Williams College. A total of 144 runners representing 12 squads took part in the 6,000 meter race at Mount Greylock Regional High School.

Johns Hopkins College (29) cruised to the team title, finishing 26 points in front of second place Williams (55). Middlebury College rounded out the top three (69). Mount Holyoke collected 315 points.

Joanna Johnson of Oberlin College crossed the line in 22:12 to secure first place in the individual competition. Laura Paulsen (22:24) and Mira Patel (22:43) of Johns Hopkins posted second and third place results, respectively.

Just 33 seconds separated Mount Holyoke’s top seven runners. The Lyons were paced by junior Rebecca Engell, who grabbed 101st place with a time of 26:21. Sophomore Emily Follo posted a 104th place (26:32) result, while first year Hannah Fillingim chipped in with a 105th place result (26:36).

Mount Holyoke is slated to participate in the New England Championship on Saturday, October 10. The event will take place at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass.