On Saturday, women’s cross country secured its 12th consecutive Little Three title, with a total of 24 points. 

The women were followed by Wesleyan with 48 points and by Amherst with 60 points at this year’s race in Middletown, Connecticut.  

The Ephs’ average time was 15:18, compared to the Cardinals’ and Mammoths’ averages of 15:30 and 15:37, respectively. 

“It is great to see the first-years and sophomores up there with the juniors and seniors in that large pack, building energy together,” Eph head coach Pete Farwell ’73 said after the meet. “Overall, this was a good win against strong teams.”

Wesleyan runner Rebecca Anido-Lopez finished the 4k race in 14:53 for first overall. Sarah Tully ’21 then led the Ephs through the finish line, capturing second place in 15:08.  The Ephs ran in a strong pack throughout the race, securing five of the top 10 spots. 

Eva Borton ’23 earned third with a time of 15:11 and was followed by co-captain Emma Herrmann ’20 in fifth and Brianna Bourne ’21 in sixth, with times of 15:20 and 15:25, respectively. 

Maddy Boutet ’20, who is currently in her first season of collegiate cross country, despite being a senior, fought to take eighth place in a time of 15:26.  

The subsequent 30 seconds saw a herd of purple cows cross the finish line, as Sarah Lyell ’23, Grace Dailey ’22, Alex Bettez ’23, Sarah Jane O’Connor ’22, Erica Barrett ’21, Lilly Wells ’22, Leah Rosenfeld ’20, and Jaylan Fraser-Mines ’21 all earned spots in the top 25 and finished around the 16-minute mark. 

The depth of this year’s Eph team was on full display throughout the race, as Maddy Lawler ’23 and Maria Tews ’23, as well as Carmen Bango ’20, were close behind in times of 16:10, 16:14 and 16:20, respectively. This race was Bango’s return to cross-country racing after multiple missed seasons due to injury. 

Emma Tapscott ’22 crossed the finish line shortly after at 16:46, and was followed closely by Hazel Richards ’23 eight seconds later. Other returning runners brought up the back of the herd to clinch the victory.

Farwell was pleased with the team’s results. “We had good packing and everybody was kind of in touch,” he said. “It is great to see some of the first-years coming in and contributing and a number of people much improved from last year.”

The Ephs will return to competition at the Purple Valley Classic on Sept. 28, at their home course on the campus of Mt. Greylock Regional School.