Individual Results | Team Results

SOUTH HADLEY, MA (October 18, 2014) -- The Vassar College women's cross country looked to defend its 2013 Seven Sisters Championships title on Saturday afternoon, but Wellesley College spoiled those plans as the Brewers finished second in the 2014 Seven Sisters Championships, hosted by Mount Holyoke College.

The Brewers earned last year's title, but this year had to finish for runner-up as the Blue of Wellesley posted four of the race's top nine runners including the top finisher in Priyanka Fouda. Vassar was still able to do a good job of hanging towards the top, placing five runners in the top 17 places to chalk up 56 points. WC won with a team total of 36. 

"It's disappointing, but we went in knowing that Wellesley was going to be a very good team and would be tough to beat," said head coach James McCowan. "We were going to have to be at our best...we ran ok, but it wasn't good enough to win."

Senior Cassidy Carpenter (Mountain View, CA/Mountainview) earned All-Seven Sisters accolades on Saturday, finishing fourth overall with a time of 22:58, running a mile pace of 6:10. Carpenter did a good job of staying with the lead pach through the first mile, and after falling back a little, battled back to finish fourth.

Freshman Meghan Willcoxon (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East) placed eighth overall with a time of 23:16, as she was the first freshman to finish the race. Willcoxon caught some runners late, gutting out the performance to finish with All-Seven Sisters laurels. 

Sophomore teammates Jemma Howlett (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook Kingswood) and Laura MacDonald (Hallowell, ME/Kent's Hill School) moved up late and finished right behind one another. Howlett placed 13th overall with a 23:56 after running with the top pack for much of the first half of the race. MacDonald started slower, but reeled in runners late finishing 14th with a 24:13. 

Sophomore Lucy Balcezak (New Haven, CT/Hopkins School) dealt with some breathing problemss but she still placed 17th to score for Vassar with a 24:18. Junior Ava Farrell (Chevy Chase, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) pulled in a few runners at the end, displacing some other runners, as she finished 22nd with a 24:30, while senior captain Harper Cleves (Oceanside, CA/Rancho Buena Vista) was right behind Farrell with a 24:34. 

"I know we can run better still, and the women look forward to doing so at Liberty Leagues in two weeks," said McCowan. The Brewers will head to Saratoga Springs, NY November 1 at 2:30 p.m. for the Liberty League Championships, hosted by RPI.