Katherine Harris
Writer
The women’s cross country team performed strongly at the Patriot League Championships last weekend, falling only to Navy to place second on the day. Individual Bison also shone, as three were named to All-Patriot League teams for their performances.
“We were proud of our performance this weekend. Navy ran a very strong race, and we respect them for that, though it is certainly disappointing not to come out on top,” Caroline Tolli ’13 said.
The Orange and Blue traveled to Colgate University on Oct. 27 to compete with the top teams in their league for the conference title. Though the team has been struggling with some injuries this season, the Bison started out aggressively in the race. The day ended with the women pulling in the runner-up title, once again falling to Navy as they did last year.
Many individuals held strong and placed amongst the top runners in the league. Leading the way for the Bison was Tolli, who has been a consistent presence at the top of the leaderboard for the team all season. With an impressive time of 22:56.0, she finished seventh in the field and earned a spot on the First Team All-Patriot League team.
Two other Bison were also honored with All-Patriot League team selections, as Deanna Godby ’16 and Katie Jessee ’15 were named to the Second Team for their strong performances. Both team members followed close behind Tolli in the race, with Godby earning 10th place with her time of 23:14.9 and Jessee bringing in 13th for the Orange and Blue with a time of 23:28.0.
“I was most impressed with the strong performance of the younger members of our team. Three of our scoring five finishers were freshmen and one was a sophomore,” Tolli said. “That’s exciting. This is a young team and they already know how to race tough in high-pressure situations.”
Alison Billas ’16 and Meghan Carroll ’16 rounded out the top five for the Bison, contributing to an overall team score of 68. Billas posted a time of 23:36.5 for 16th place on the six-kilometer course, while Carroll finished in 22nd place with a time of 23:49.4.
The Orange and Blue will now have a week off to prepare before gearing up for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. The team will travel to Penn State on Nov. 9 to compete against the top runners in the region.