Williamstown, MA- The Williams College Women's Cross Country team opened their season today with a strong showing at the Little 3 Invite, hosted at Williams' home course at Mount Greylock Regional School. The team scored just 34 points, only 4 points behind Amherst, but a striking 34 points ahead of Wesleyan.
In the 4k race, team captain Nora Johnson had a stand-out performance, securing 3rd place and running a time of 15:17. Teammate Kate Tuttle was right behind her, coming across the line in 4th place in a time of 15:20.
Reflecting on how the day went, captain Nora Johnson effused, "I am so proud of how our women's team tackled the challenging Mount Greylock course today! For many of us, this was either our first collegiate race or the first race in quite a while, and everyone did an amazing job navigating the uncertainties. Amherst and Wesleyan had strong performances, and I'm really looking forward to racing against them again as our team continues to grow this season. On a personal note, I was excited to see an improvement place-wise from last year's Little 3 Championship and am eager to keep that momentum going throughout the season!"
The Mount Greylock course is notoriously hilly with an especially brutal climb included in both loops of the course. Sophomore Tamar Byl-Brann remarked- "The hill was tough, but we're used to hills. Also, I think it was nice that everyone got a chance to try it. We will have an opportunity to run on it again and everyone will be better prepared". The demanding course highlighted the team's classic propensity for pack running. Teammates Charlene Peng, Hayley Ballard, Kate Swann, Ella Kirkwood, Alice Culver, Tamar Byl-Brann, and Jordan Liss-Riordan all placed within 7 seconds of each other, scoring between 8th and 15th.
Eph head coach Dusty Lopez commented, "The women ran a very strong team race and it was great to see. Our strength this year will be depth and running well as a pack the way we did today. We would have loved to win the meet, of course, but Amherst is a strong team. We will have some good opportunities to improve when we see them again."
The Ephs will race next on September 21st, at William's famous home meet, the Purple Valley Classic, also hosted at Mount Greylock Regional School. Coming out of Little Threes, the team is excited to rip up the home turf again in a few short weeks.
