Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Diamonds Media

Women's Cross Country 10/17/2026 11:53:00 PM

No. 9 Women’s Cross Country Takes Fourth at Conn. College Invitational

WATERFORD, Conn. – Liv Girand finished in 22nd place to lead the No. 9 MIT women's cross country team to fourth place in the Women's 6k Caroline Grape '22 Memorial Blue Championship Race at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday at Harkness Memorial State Park.

THE BASICS:

Women's 6k Caroline Grape '22 Memorial Blue Championship Race: 4th of 28 (162 points)
Women's 6k White Open Race: No Team Score

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Women's 8k Blue Championship Race
- Girand paced the Engineers with a 22nd-place finish in 21:35.3. MIT placed three runners in the top 30 as Jordan Lacsamana placed 28th (21:40.0) and Heather Jensen finished 30th (21:41.2). Jessica Meza was 42nd (21:51.9) and Megan Diulus rounded out the scoring five in 49th (21:55.8).
- Kate Friedman placed 65th (22:12.4), while Sophie Cheung finished 71st (22:17.0) and Katie Hansen crossed the line in 22:50.3, placing 114th. Sofie Howard recorded a time of 23:16.0 (152nd) and Sarah Hopp finished 154th (23:17.1).
Women's 8k White Open Race
- Katherine Pagorek paced the Engineers with a 43rd-place finish in 23:35.3. Maeve Sullivan placed 50th (23:45.7), while Gracie Zhou finished 55th (23:48.3) and Courtney McCracken recorded a time of 24:13.3 to finish 96th.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Women's 8k Blue Championship Race
- Lacsamana and Jensen finished just 1.2 seconds apart, while the top three finishers were separated by only 5.9 seconds.
- MIT placed all five scoring runners in the top 50, led by a tightly packed front group.
- The Engineers' scoring five crossed the line within 20.5 seconds of one another (21:35.3 to 21:55.8), demonstrating excellent pack running.
Women's 8k White Open Race
- MIT placed three runners in the top 55, with Pagorek, Sullivan, and Zhou finishing within 13.0 seconds of one another.

UP NEXT:

MIT will race at the NEWMAC Championships on Saturday, October 31 at Smith College.

STAY CONNECTED:

For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

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Players Mentioned

Sophie Cheung: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Kate Friedman: 5' 6"; Junior

Liv Girand: 5' 6"; Senior

Katie Hansen: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Sarah Hopp: 5' 9"; Junior

Sofie Howard: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Heather Jensen: 5' 7"; Senior

Jordan Lacsamana: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Courtney McCracken: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Jessica Meza: 5' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Sophie Cheung
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Kate Friedman
: 5' 6"; Junior

Liv Girand
: 5' 6"; Senior

Katie Hansen
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Sarah Hopp
: 5' 9"; Junior

Sofie Howard
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Heather Jensen
: 5' 7"; Senior

Jordan Lacsamana
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Courtney McCracken
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Jessica Meza
: 5' 5"; Senior