NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--Vassar College placed three runners in the top 10 to win the 2013 Seven Sisters Cross Country Championship, hosted by Smith College on Saturday morning.
The Brewers, ranked No. 22 in the latest USTFCCA poll, totalled 38 points, 17 ahead of second place Wellesley College. Host Smith finished third with 73 points, followed by St. Catherine University (MN) with 110, Bryn Mawr with 121, Mount Holyoke with 139, and Simmons College with 202.
Bryn Mawr junior Claudia Keep set a new course record in 18:23 to win the individual title. It marked the second straight year that Bryn Mawr had the top runner in the field, after Kristina Kronauer won the 2012 title. Keep dominated the 5k course, beating Vassar senior Aubree Piepmeier by a 19 second margin. Smith's Danielle Opatovsky finished in third place with a time of 18:59, and Vassar's Kate Snider (19:10) and St. Catherine's Ailee Larson (19:20) rounded out the top five.
Those five earn All-Seven Sisters honors, along with Priyanka Fouda of Wellesley, Micaela Young of Smith, Lucy Balcezak of Vassar, and Mary Keenan and Alice Zhou, both of Wellesley.
It was the third overall title for Vassar, all coming in the last four years. Wellesley has won the most team titles with nine, followed by Smith with seven, Haverford with five, and Mount Holyoke with three. Swarthmore and Columbia each won the event twice, while Barnard won one, the first ever contested in 1982.
All Seven Sisters Team
Claudia Keep, Bryn Mawr (18:23.3)
Aburee Piepmeier, Vassar (18:52.9)
Danielle Opatovsky, Smith (18:59.9)
Kate Snider, Vassar (19:10.9)
Ailee Larson, St. Catherine (19:20.9)
Priyanka Fouda, Wellesley (19:29.4)
Micaela Young, Smith (19:32.8)
Lucy Balcezak, Vassar (19:41.2)
Mary Keenan, Wellesley (19:44.5)
Alice Zhou, Wellesley (19:45.6)
Team Scores
Vassar, 38
Wellesley, 55
Smith, 73
St. Catherine, 110
Bryn Mawr, 121
Mount Holyoke, 139
Simmons, 202
