DARTMOUTH, Mass. - It was an afternoon that saw 12 season's best times achieved, along with five personal bests, as the Mount Holyoke College cross country team competed at the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday. The varsity runners combined to take ninth overall in a field of 45, bettering last year's effort which saw the Lyons finish 28th of 40 teams. Additionally, the sub varsity runners took fifth overall in a field of 15. Both finishes exceeded the squad's goals for placing in the events.
Focusing on pack running and utilizing strength in numbers, the Lyons came out confident, evident by their body language. It was an encouraging effort and step forward for MHC, which will now be idle until October 6th at the James Earley Invitational at Westfield State.
Beginning with the varsity 5k, the Lyons were paced by first year Sydney Nash, who crossed the line in a season's best time of 19:55.63 - good for 58th overall in a field of 318 runners. Senior captain Corrin Moss was next across for the Lyons, posting a mark of 20:13.47 for 81st. Close behind in 84th was sophomore Simone Jacob, who recorded a personal best time of 20:15.91 on the afternoon. Classmate Meryl Phair then recorded a time of 20:32.50 to take 104th. Senior captain Hannah Gershone was 109th, boasting a season's best time of 20:34.43, while rookie Sophia Gronbeck was 128th with a time of 20:43.46.
Rookie Sarah Hyde was 171st with a time of 21:29.91, followed by junior Michelle Serrano, who earned 193rd with a mark of 21:55.17.
Brandeis earned the team victory in the varsity event, combining for 56 points. Trinity (105), Merrimack (107), WPI (127) and Wellesley (225) rounded out the top-five finishing teams.
In the sub-varsity event, rookie Jamie Day placed 10th overall with a time of 20:38.45 in the field of 187 runners. Junior Emma Raney was close behind, reaching the finish in a time of 20:50.21 for 14th overall. First year Natalie Rodman took 32nd with a time of 21:18.46, while junior Brigit Wolf was 35th, crossing in a time of 21:25.82. Rookie Katie Milligan earned 55th with a time of 21:45.19, followed by classmate Sophia Anderson, who posted a 22:03.40 to take 62nd.
Senior Emsie Cronin was 67th with a time of 22:13.98 and was followed by a flurry of teammates as sophomore Olivia Wrobleski and rookies Amanda Kearney and Charlotte Lindblom were 71st (22:24.27), 72nd (22:25.06) and 73rd (22:28.74), respectively. First year Sammi Craig was 81st with a time of 22:43.40 as classmate Molly Lukiwsky took 91st with a mark of 22:52.18. Senior Victoria Parrish rounded out the action for the Lyons, earning 129th with a time of 23:47.17.
Holy Cross took the win in the sub-varsity race, posting 29 points. Springfield (62), Merrimack (107), Brandeis (116) and Mount Holyoke (126) followed to close out the top-five.
