Women’s cross country places eighth at New Englands
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| Esther Kendall ’10 led Bates at New Englands for the second straight year. (Photo by Tom Leonard ’78) |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Bates College women’s cross country team finished eighth out of 49 scoring teams Saturday at the Division III New England Regional Championships, the Bobcats’ third-straight top-10 performance at the regional meet.
For the second straight year, the Bobcats entered the meet ranked 10th in New England and fared better than their ranking. Bates scored 268 points, edging ninth-place Keene State (274) as well as rivals such as Wesleyan (299), Connecticut College (323) and Smith (352). Bates finished ninth last year at New Englands, and seventh the year before.
Middlebury took the team title with 57 points, while Amherst’s Elise Tropiano was the individual titlist in 21:49.3.
Also for the second straight year it was Esther Kendall (Ridgeway, Ontario) leading a team performance that boasted impressive depth and balance. Kendall covered the 6-kilometer course at Mt. Greylock High School (Williams College was the host school) in a time of 24:16.8, good for 43rd place out of 330 competitors. A pack of Bobcats trailed close behind, led by sophomore Liz Rowley (Evanston, Ill.) in 47th at 24:25.3, followed by sophomore Alex Alberto (Concord, Mass.) in 50th at 24:27.3, sophomore Chloe Bourne (Litchfield, Conn.) in 54th at 24:34.4 and junior Abby Samuelson (Freeport, Maine) in 74th at 24:55.3. Rounding out Bates’ top seven were senior Allie Goldstein (Needham, Mass.) in 76th at 24:56.4 and junior Katie Bash (Wallingford, Pa.) in 109th at 25:36.4.