NEW LONDON, Conn. — Smith College raced at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday at Harkness Memorial State Park, tackling the fast seaside 6K layout alongside one of the deepest Division III fields in the nation.

In the Blue race, first-year Avery Maiese paced the Bears in 23:23.5 (150th), followed by junior Lucy Kreipke (Princeton, NJ/Princeton) in 23:32.7 (160th). Sophomores Amelia Gronert (24:53.0) and Hillary Connor (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) (24:59.6) closed strong, with junior Catherine Collins (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) rounding out the scoring in 26:07.2. Smith totaled 973 points (2:02:56 team time / 24:35 avg).

In the White race, the Bears' next group gained valuable pack-race experience and placed 32nd with 873 points behind a scoring five that included first-year Abigail Lei (25:15.0), sophomore Elise Kennedy (Middletown, CT/Middletown) (26:45.9), Indie Lamb (Barrington, RI/Barrington High School) (27:23.1), and junior Annika Wells (Ashland, OR/Ashland High School) (27:42.2).

The next race for the Bears will be November 1st as they travel to Highland Park for the NEWMAC Championships hosted by Wheaton College. 

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log onto GoSmithBears.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram