No. 18 women’s cross country snagged first place during its final home meet of the season, the Purple Valley Classic at Mount Greylock Regional High School on Sept. 21. The team finished just one point ahead of runner-up RPI.
The meet course was intended to be a 6k, but due to a wrong turn early in the race, athletes ended up running almost 7 kilometers.
“I was really impressed that people took that very well — being out there a lot longer than they thought they would but still being really gritty, being tough, [and] finishing it out,” co-captain Nora Johnson ’25 told the Record. Kate Tuttle ’28 finished first for the Ephs and third overall, followed by Jordan Liss-Riordan ’27, who finished fifth overall.
In a tradition they started last year, much of the team — including first-years — arrived to campus two weeks before classes began, marking the second year that first-years have arrived with the rest of the team instead of with the rest of their class.
According to Johnson, the joint arrival was especially crucial considering the number of young members — nine first-years and eight sophomores — on the team this year. Johnson added that a main goal of hers has been to promote a cohesive team culture. “It’s a very foundational year for the team to really get connected and have people get used to running and working out and training together,” she said.
During the team’s first workout of the season, a challenging trail run, the captains emphasized making it through the race together rather than running quickly, co-captain Grace Kaercher ’25 said. “It’s not about who’s going to get up this really steep trail the fastest, but really getting up there together,” she said.
This mindset is reflected in one of the team’s primary strategies this season: pack running, which it successfully debuted at the season opener, the Little Three Championship 4k on Sept. 7, garnering the Ephs a second-place finish behind the No. 11 Amherst Mammoths.
At the Little Three Championship, the team also treated the day as an opportunity to “teach the frosh our race-day routines,” co-captain Charlotte Staudenmayer ’25 added.
The Purple Valley Classic also served as the team’s alum weekend event, which Staudenmayer said was a great way to show new members the kind of community they can expect to find in their teammates.
“It was really fun to have the alums there,” she said. “I think it’s really cool early on in the season for the freshmen to see how many people come back and how these relationships, these experiences really kind of continue to impact people after college.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Kaercher noted the team’s potential for success in the NESCAC and other conferences, in addition to supporting its youngest members. “As the season goes on, at some of these bigger meets [we want to be] pretty competitive and show our strength and not shy away from competitive aspirations,” she said.
The Ephs will compete next weekend at the RPI Harvest Classic in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
