Cross country brings strong showing to Connecticut College Invitational

Bridget Hall (left) and Greta Trapp (center) finished second and first, respectively, for Mount Holyoke in the "White Race" at the Connecticut College Invitational on Oct. 15, 2022. (Bob Blanchard/RJB Sports)

WATERFORD, Conn. -- The Mount Holyoke cross country team traveled to the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park on Saturday and placed fourth out of 14 teams in the large meet's "White Race," while senior Lauren Selkin placed sixth out of 308 competitors in the "Blue Race."

The Connecticut College Invitational featured some of the top-ranked Division III women's cross country programs including sixth-ranked MIT as well as No. 8 Amherst, No. 13 Tufts, No. 14 St. Olaf, No. 16 Williams, No. 19 Bates, No. 20 NYU, No. 29 Middlebury, No. 30 St. Lawrence, and No. 34 WPI. MIT won the meet with 62 points, while St. Olaf (110), Williams (115), Amherst (116), and Bates (143) rounded out the top five.

Selkin (Greenwich, Conn.) was the sole competitor for the Lyons in the Caroline Grape '22 Memorial Race, or "Blue Race," finishing in sixth place with a personal 6K record of 21:49.2.

In the White race, the Lyons finished fourth overall with 144 points, just ahead of Trinity (172) in fifth place. Finishing in third place was Eastern Connecticut State with 128 points while Springfield placed second overall with 88 points. Westfield State won the team title in the White race, recording 74 points.

Sophomore Greta Trapp (La Crosse, Wis.) led the Lyons in the White race finishing 18th overall in 24:27.1, a personal record time by 1:17. Junior Bridget Hall (Arlington, Mass.) followed in 19th place recording a 37-second personal record of 24:30.4, while sophomore Kim Beaver (Agawam, Mass.) finished 33rd posting a personal best of 25:15.7.

Sophomore Olivia Johnson (Mount Desert, Maine) placed 37th overall clocking in a 29-second personal record of 25:20.8, while junior Lily Nemirovsky (Bedford, Mass.) finished in 41st with a 30-second personal best of 25:26.8.

Senior Devan Ravino (West Kingston, R.I.) finished in 46th place, recording a personal record of 25:36.1, while classmate Amanda Kearney (Teaneck, N.J.) finished in 76th (27:48.2) as Mount Holyoke's two scoring displacers.

First-year Emma Quirk (Middleton, Mass.) placed 90th with a 56-second personal best of 29:10.8, followed by senior Eliza Butler (Hartsdale, N.Y.) in 95th (30:27.1).

"We had a very good day," said head coach Jay Hartshorn. "In the White Race we had people running in packs through two miles, which made everyone better. They worked together really well. For Lauren, the Blue Race is the most competition she will see during the regular season, so it was great for her to get in that field and mix it up."

Mount Holyoke will begin the championship season at the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship in Attleboro, Mass., on Sunday, October 30 at 12 pm.