THE BASICS:

- Location: Northampton, Mass. (Smith College)

- The Lead: The MIT women's cross country team captured its 16th-straight NEWMAC title on Saturday afternoon on balmy 78 degree day. The seventh ranked team in the nation easily came away with the first place finish paced by a third place finish from sophomore Katherine Sanderson (West Hartford, Conn.). Last year's NEWMAC Rookie of the Year improved upon her fourth place finish last year, crossing the line in 22:48.4.

The 35-point victory marked the 18th overall title in program history. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- MIT finished in third, fifth, eighth, ninth and 10th en route to the victory, the only team with all of its five finishers coming in the top-10.

- Following Sanderson's third place finish, junior Christina Crow (Mercer Island, Wash.) netted a fifth place 23:00.8 finish.

- The trio of sophomore Lexi Fernandez (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) and freshmen Olivia Girand (New York, N.Y.) and Heather Jensen (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) finished in eighth, ninth and 10th respectively to seal the win. All three competed in their first NEWMAC Championships. Fernandez finished in 23:20.9. 

- Girand, the first freshman runner to cross, becomes MIT's second-straight NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, and 14th all time, with a 23:41.6 finish. Her classmate Jenson crossed seconds later with a 23:49.9 finish.

- Sophomore Erin Hovendon (Hendersonville, N.C.) was the next to come across for the Engineers with a 15th place, 24:08.4 finish to add another NEWMAC All-Conference performance to the total. MIT finished the 2023 race with six All-Conference performers.

- Sophomore Tessa Everett (Niwot, Colo.) came across in 33rd place in 25:14.3 while first year Jessica Meza (Columbus, Ind.) netted a 36th place finish with a time of 25:21.5. Junior Olivia Stoner (Haddonfield, N.J.) rounded out the pack with a 66th place, 27:05.3 finish.

UP NEXT:

- MIT is back on the course on Saturday, November 11th for the NCAA East Regional Championship that will be held at the Hopkinton state fairgrounds. The race is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. 
 
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