Playing host to the NESCAC Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2003, the Middlebury women's cross country team claimed its 13th overall title, while the men finished a strong third on a windy and cool Saturday in Vermont. The women, ranked third nationally, scored 38 points to edge seventh-ranked and runner-up Williams' 47. The Middlebury men, ranked ninth nationally, had 80 points behind champion and third-ranked Williams (39) and seventh-ranked Colby (76).

In the women's race, Alison Maxwell grabbed the individual title with a time of 22:16.8. She becomes Middlebury's first women's individual champion since Jessica Johnston did it back-to-back in 1999 and 2000. Maxwell finished just over 16 seconds faster than teammate Summer Spillane's runner-up time of 22:33.Adrian Walsh crossed the line in sixth (22:45.1), while Katie Carlson raced to the line in 10th (22:54.3). Olivia Artaiz rounded out the scorers, finishing in the 19th spot (23:22.6).

Though not scoring, Addis Fouche-Channer was just seconds behind Artaiz in 22nd (23:28.1), while Emma DeCamp (27th, 23:39.8) and Sarah Guth (29th, 23:49.5) also secured top-30 finishes.

During the men's competition, Kevin Wood led the Panthers to the line over the 8K course with a fifth-place finish of 25:22.4. Coming in just eight seconds behind Wood was classmate Wilder Schaaf in ninth (25:30.2), while Sebastian Matt stopped the clock in 19th (25:57.7). Sam Klockenkemper was fourth on the team and 22nd in the race with a time of 26:03.4, while Jacob Fox rounded out the Middlebury scorers with a 25th-place finish (26:07.6).

The teams continue their championship seasons when they take part in the ECAC Championships next Saturday hosted by Westfield State. The men's race will begin at 11:00 a.m., while the women will start at noon.