WATERFORD, Conn. - Williams placed four runners in the top seven as the Ephs captured a sixth-straight NESCAC Championship, winning in dominant fashion at a windy Harkness Memorial State Park on Saturday.
Kate Tuttle, Morgan Eigel, Tamar Byl-Brann and Kate Swann finished in positions four through seven in the race, running in a tight pack and all finishing within two seconds of each other, running 21:12 (Tuttle and Eigel) and 21:13 (Byl-Brann and Swann) in the 6k race.
Charlene Peng finished in 10th overall in 21:26, and Fiona Picone captured 13th in 21:42. First-year Ginger Long ran a PR to earn 7th on the team and 19th overall in 22:02.
"I was really proud of how our team did today," said Peng, a senior and captain of the team. "It was really great because we were able to run together as a pack, and our top four all crossed the line together.
"Overall, great team day, everyone performed super well, and it was a great way to cap off an amazing regular season."
Williams' team score of 32 was well ahead of second-place Middlebury, at 69, and third-place Connecticut College, at 81. Middlebury had the race winner, Audrey Maclean, finish in 20:47, and third-placed Claire Palmer at 21:06. Conn College, the hosts, had its top runner, Grace McDonough, earn second in 21:04.
The Championship is Williams' 22nd, and the sixth-straight dating back to 2019. The team's 32 points is the lowest team score in that span and the lowest for any champion since Williams scored 30 in 2015.
"Both teams were outstanding in their own ways today," said Head Coach Dusty Lopez. "The women took command of the race early and their depth was really on display. Their winning score was less than half of the runner up, which is such a dominant performance."
Peng and Picone both earned All-NESCAC Second Team honors, while Tuttle, Eigel, Byl-Brann and Swann all made the All-NESCAC First Team.
Julia Brennan, Hannah Prokup, Clara Gahm, Estella Laird, Lily Yampolsky, Linnea Cox, Eliana Zitrin, and Vivienne Namiot all raced well as the Ephs showed off team strength throughout the squad.
The team will look ahead to next weekend's D3 Challenge, followed by the NCAA Regional Championship at St. Lawrence in two weeks where the team will look to earn a bid to the National Championship race. That event will be held at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday, November 22.
