TERRE HAUTE, Indiana — Paced by a third-place finish from junior Kate Sanderson (West Hartford, Conn.), the No. 4 ranked MIT women's cross country team delivered a dominate team performance to win the 6k DIII Pre-Nationals Meet at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Friday evening.
Racing in the twilight on a lighted course, MIT flexed its team depth and finished 87 points ahead of second place, and No. 2 nationally ranked, University of Chicago. Overall, MIT earned six of the top 25 spots in the field.
THE BASICS:
- Top-Five Team Scores: 1. MIT (56); 2. U of Chicago (143); 3. DePauw (201); 4. Washington U. (204); 5. Conn. College (236)
- Top Finisher: Wilmington Ohio's Faith Duncan in 21:02.79
- Top MIT Finisher: Kate Sanderson in 21:33.57 (3rd)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Sanderson was third overall, and second in the team standings, setting a new collegiate cross country 6k PR with a time of 21:33.57.
- Junior Lexi Fernandez (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) was tenth in 21:47.96, also a new collegiate 6k PR. Fernandez was followed closely by junior Rujuta Sane (Chandler, Ariz.) and senior Christina Crow (Mercer Island, Wash.), who finished 14th and 15th respectively. Sane clocked in at 21:55.46 and Crow finished in 21:57.14.
- Sophomore Heather Jensen (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) closed out MIT's team score when she crossed the finish line in 22:08.78. Jensen was closely followed by sophomore Liv Girand (New York, N.Y.) who took 25th in 22:11.50 (PR).
- With the team title in hand, the Engineers continued to pace the field with the final four of MIT's ten runners all finishing inside the top-60. First year Ava Hartman (New Orleans, La.) was 36th in 22:22.40, sophomore Megan Diulus (Akron, Ohio) took 44th in 22:27.80, first year Kate Friedman (Greenwich, Conn.) was 46th in 22:29.67, and junior Erin Hovendon (Laurel Park, N.C.) claimed 59th in 22:44.32.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- All ten MIT runners in the field set collegiate 6k PRs.
- Sanderson's 6k PR dropped 32 seconds from the season opening Maribel Sanchez Souther Invite.
- The Engineers claimed the DIII Pre-National meet for the first time after finishing as the team runner-up in both 2022 and 2023.
UP NEXT:
- MIT women's cross country will compete tomorrow, Saturday, October 5, at the Bates Invitational before the team comes back together to race on Saturday, October 19 at the Connecticut College Invitational.
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