New London, Connecticut -- Set on the scenic coastline bordering Connecticut College, this famous invite is the site of a classic collegiate cross country spectacle. The women's field, holding over 500 entries, was split between the "White" and "Blue" races, with the Williams women's team winning the White race and finishing third in the Blue race.
In the White Race, the team easily outpaced the competition, gliding free of the crowd on the seaside paths of this fast course. First year Lily Yampolsky finished second, running a time of 22:14 for the 6k. Teammate Fiona Picone was right behind in third, running a time of 22:16. Lily attributed these stand-out finishes to signature Eph pack racing- "it was really fun to pack up with teammates and race together".
Ella Kirkwood and Grace Kaercher also both ranked in the top 10, finishing 6th and 8th and running times of 22:23 and 22:29 respectively. They were followed by Julia Brennan (11th, 22:38), Clara Gahm (22nd, 23:11), and Hannah Prokup (23:28) to round out Williams 7 member roster for this race.
In the Blue Race, the team had to battle tough competition off the line. But as the race wore on, the Ephs were able to establish and hold position, earning a higher result than any other NESCAC team. The team was led by sophomore Tamar Byl-Brann, who traversed the course in just 21:24 minutes. Tamar set a new personal 6k record and broke into the top ten, finishing ninth. "My goal was to start out fast and progress from there, because that's something I hadn't really done before," Tamar said, reflecting on her performance today.
She was followed by teammates Kate Tuttle, Kate Swann, and Nora Johnson who all finished within 5 seconds of each other and underneath the 22 minute mark, placing 20th, 22nd, and 24th and running times of 21:45, 21:48, and 21:50 respectively. Williams' top 7 for this race was rounded out by Jordan Liss-Riordan (32nd, 21:59), Charlene Peng (38th, 22:05), and Hayley Ballard (47th, 22:16).
Going into NESCACs, the team is excited to show the conference just how strong the Ephs are. "I'm happy that our rankings finally reflect where we thought they were", Tamar commented- "I think we all have a new confidence, and most of all, we're excited to see what we can do next."
Eph coach Dusty Lopez sounded a similar tune, "The White race group really started the meet off well, controlling their race from the start and showing our depth. And the Blue race group continued that theme, pushing an extremely good field to the limit. We beat several teams ranked higher than us and gave number one MIT a great battle. So we're excited to train for a couple more weeks and work to defend our NESCAC title".
The Ephs will seek to defend their NESCAC title on November 2nd, at Bowdoin College in Maine.
