WELLESLEY, Mass. (Oct. 13, 2012) – Host Wellesley College took home the team title at the 31st Seven Sisters Cross Country Championship, held at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. The 5k event featured 94 runners from six teams, as Wellesley welcomed Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, St. Catherine University and Vassar College.
Bryn Mawr senior Kristina Kronauer was the individual champion at the event, crossing the finish line in a swift 17:53. She topped Vassar junior Aubree Piepmeier (18:12) and Smith first-year Danielle Opatovsky (18:13) who finished in second and third respectively. Kronauer's first place finish marked the first time in the 31-year history of the event that a Bryn Mawr runner took top honors.
Wellesley finished with a team score of 44, topping second-place Vassar who recorded 65 total points. The Blue were aided by tight pack running with all scorers finishing in the top-13 at the event. St. Catherine finished in third place overall with 87 points, followed by Smith (93), Bryn Mawr (105) and Mount Holyoke (138).
For Mount Holyoke, first year Elizabeth DeLeon finished 14th overall with a time of 18:57. Sophomore Dana Fry was 30th with a mark of 19:48, while senior Julia Merton was 39th with a mark of 20:07. Junior Lucia Garcia placed 42nd on the afternoon with a time of 20:13, while Elizabeth Baker was just out of the top-50, finishing 52nd overall with a time of 20:35.
Today's victory marked the ninth team championship for Wellesley and the first since 2009. The Blue lead the overall field with their nine wins, followed by Smith with seven, Haverford with five, and Mount Holyoke with three. Vassar, Swarthmore and Columbia each won the event twice, while Barnard won one, the first ever contested in 1982.
Kronauer, Piepmeier and Opatovsky were the first three representatives on the All-Seven Sisters team. They were joined by Vassar's Kelly Holmes, Wellesley's Priyanka Fouda, Ada Smith, and Cristina Lucas, Bryn Mawr's Claudia Keep, and St. Catherine's Ailee Larson and Emily Sweet.
The Lyons return to action on October 27th when they compete at the NEWMAC Championships, hosted by Smith College. Action kicks-off at 11am.
Story Credit to Lauren Ferrett, Wellesley Sports Information Director.
