MIT Women’s Cross Country Finishes First at UMass-Dartmouth Invitational

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – MIT women's cross country team returned victorious from the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational after defeating 37 other teams in both the varsity and sub-varsity competitions on Saturday. Senior Brooke Johnson (Shoreham, N.Y.) finished first in the varsity race with a time of 18:24.85 while junior Kaitlin Allen (Bedford, N.H.) broke the tape in 18:16.87 in the sub-varsity event.

In the varsity 5k, six of the top 10 finishes were claimed by the Engineers. Freshman Sarah Quinn (Watchung, N.J.) was the runner-up with a time of 18:29.61, followed by sophomore Elaine McVay (San Ramon, Calif.) in 18:33.03. Junior Martina de Geus (Los Altos, Calif.) finished fourth and sophomore Dacie Manion (Old Towne, Maine) crossed the line in seventh place with times of 18:36.75 and 18:43.44 respectively. Rounding out the squad was freshman Allison Hallock (Boulder, Colo.), who ranked 15^th, junior Alexandra Taylor (Harbor Springs, Mich.) placed 18^th and classmate Claire O'Connell (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) came in 21^st place.

MIT also had a very good showing in the sub varsity race, as it secured 13 of the top 20 finishes. On the heels of Allen's outstanding performance were sophomore Kali Benavides (Miami, Fla.) and junior Marie Burkland (Almont, Mich.) with times of 18:57.41 and 19:02.67. Rounding out the top 10 was freshman Elena de la Paz (Bethesda, Md.), junior Louise van den Heuvel (Nashua, N.H.), freshman Marissa Stephens (Indianapolis, In.) and sophomore Shivani Kaushal (Grand Blanc, Mich.).

MIT will return to action when they take part in the Purple Valley Classic in Williamstown, Mass. on Saturday, Sept. 22.