Audrey MacLean won the individual title in the Blue Race on Saturday, propelling the 13th-ranked Middlebury women's cross country team to a sixth-place finish out of 33 programs at the Connecticut College Invitational. Second-ranked Williams took home the team title with 73 points, followed by #5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with 97 points and #3 Johns Hopkins accumulating 113 points. Before the race, the Panthers honored seniors Lily Bulczynski, Josie Dolan, Victoria Fawcett, Lucca Franz and Janie Morganroth.

COURSE INFORMATION

• Location: New London, Conn. (Harkness Memorial State Park)
• Host School: Connecticut College
• Distance: 6 kilometers (6K)
• Weather: 59 and clear
• Finish In Blue Race: 6th/33

HIGHLIGHTS

• MacLean paced the pack, leading by nearly two seconds at the first split. The Panther continued to put distance on the competition before eventually claiming the individual title with a time of 20:17.2. Her clocking was 23 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Olivia Warr from Washington & Lee.
• Claire Palmer crossed the line next for Middlebury, rising four spots over the final split for 11th at 21:09.28.
• The third finisher was MK Cestaro with a clocking of 22:00.24 to earn 51st.
• Shea Fajen was 10 spots back in 61st (22:09.46), while Grace Kaelber was in 76th (22:27.46) to close the scoring for the Panthers.

NOTES

• MacLean's time is the second fastest in the meet's history and four seconds faster than her previous collegiate-best effort of 20:21.2 clocked at the 2024 NESCAC Championship.
• Palmer reset her career clocking by 16 seconds.
• The blue race featured 16 nationally-ranked teams, including the top five in the most recent United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll.
• The Panthers claimed third in the white race, headlined by top-25 efforts by Naomi Gomel (23:03.6 - 21st) and Lulu Baker (23:05.2 - 23rd).

Middlebury has a week off before returning to Connecticut College to race for the program's 15th NESCAC Championship on November 1.