THE BASICS:
- Location: Elsah, Ill. (Principia North Farm Course - Principia College)
- The Lead: On Saturday, the No. 3 ranked MIT women's cross country team dropped a narrow two-point final to No. 1 ranked Johns Hopkins University at the Cowbell Classic. MIT finished with 76 points as the team placed four runners in the top 20, while the Blue Jays finished with a 74-point total. The meet is the preview meet for the NCAA Division III National Championship, which will be held on this course on Saturday, November 18th.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Freshman Katie Collins (Newton, Mass.) became the third different runner this season to lead the Engineers as she crossed in seventh place in a time of 21:43.35. Finishing right behind her in eighth was sophomore Katie Bacher (Macungie, Pa.) at 21:44.85, followed by junior Leandra Zimmermann (Augsburg, Germany) at 15th in a time of 21:58.63. The final top-20 finisher for the Engineers was senior Mary Eccles (Wahiawa, Hawaii) as she placed 18th in 22:04.59.
- The final scoring runner for MIT was sophomore Marissa McPhillips (Narragansett, R.I.) in 28th place at 22:40.90. Sophomore Megan McCandless (Livermore, Calif.) placed 32nd in 22:49.77, followed by sophomore Jenna Melanson (Woodland, Wash.) in 45th place with a time of 23:05.53.
- Freshman Emily Niu (Painted Post, N.Y.) finished in 61st, followed by sophomore Tessa Weiss (Scottsdale, Ariz.) in 74th and junior Jenny Xu (Cupertino, Calif.) in 88th place. Niu posted a time of 23:16.44, while Weiss ran 23:25.36 and Xu finished in 23:42.13.
- In the event, MIT defeated 13 nationally-ranked programs, including four top-10 teams and six teams ranked among the top 20 in the country.
UP NEXT:
- MIT is back in action on Sunday, October 29th as the Engineers head to Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. for the 2017 NEWMAC Championship. MIT enters the league meet as the 10-time defending champions.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
