Vienna Ritter-Yelle finished 68th among 144 runners Saturday as William Smith placed 16th out of 19 teams at the NCAA Division III Niagara Regional cross country championships in Fredonia.
The first-year runner completed the 6-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 10 seconds, finishing just 15 seconds off her season-best time over that distance, according to HWS Athletics.
Fellow first-year runners Evie Morris and Claire Ross followed Ritter-Yelle. Morris placed 97th in 25:16.1, while Ross finished 107th in 25:37.2.
Megan Ingraham was William Smith’s fourth finisher, placing 111th in 25:48.9. Amelia Kilway rounded out the Herons’ leading five in 119th at 26:27.0.
SUNY Geneseo put five runners in the top 12 to win the team championship by 19 points over runner-up NYU. William Smith finished 39 points behind 15th-place Penn State Behrend and 20 points ahead of 17th-place Hunter.
RIT senior Kathryn Abegast won the individual championship in 21:02.8.
William Smith coach Tyler Wilkie said the team’s performance fell short of its expectations, but he praised the runners’ individual and collective progress throughout the season. He credited their daily commitment and work with strengthening the team’s foundation and expressed confidence in its future.
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