BRISTOL, R.I. - Junior Kara MacLean (Braintree, Mass.) finished fifth at the Roger Williams Invitational to lead the Simmons College cross country team to a sixth-place team showing at Colt State Park in Bristol, R.I. this morning. 

Endicott College claimed the team crown with 48 points, while the Sharks finished with 156. Endicott senior Erin Haynes (Oakham, Mass.) won the individual title with a time of 20:09.

MacLean's time of 21:19 was 56 seconds better than her time in the race last year and was her personal-best time as well. Sophomore Bethanie Royality-Lindman (Wakefield, R.I.) was Simmons' second top finisher, coming in at 31st overall with a mark of 22:50, while classmate Mia DeLuccia (Lynnfield, Mass.) was 21 seconds behind to place 36th overall with a time of 23:11, which was actually 56 one-hundreths of a second better than her time in the same race last year. Sophomore Sara Harland (Pembroke, Mass.) and junior Tiffany Lo (Braintree, Mass.) also figured in the scoring for Simmons, posting 44th and 52nd place finishes, respectively. Harland clocked in at 23:52 and Lo came in at 24:26 in her first collegiate race. Sophomore Kaitlyn Maloney (Amherst, N.H.) was just two steps behind Lo in 53rd place with a time of 24:28 for her first showing in a collegiate meet.

Senior Caroline Coughlin (Chelmsford, Mass.) and junior Alicia Morales (Uxbridge, Mass.) were step for step, finishing within two seconds of each other in 66th and 67th place, respectively. Coughlin registered a time of 25:21, while Morales came in at 25:23. Sophomore Madison Rivard (Sharon, Mass.) crossed the line at 25:31 to place 70th in her collegiate debut, while classmate Brie Paradis (Greenfield, Mass.) recorded a mark of 26:28 to finish 76th. 

Sophomore Hannah Hast (Bow, N.H.) and seniors Monica Khun (Lawrence, Mass.) and Lillian Pham (Sprinfield, Mass.) finished 79th, 80th and 81st, respectively with times of 26:51, 26:53 and 27:14. First year Kimberly Ryznal (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) was 20 seconds behind Pham at 27:34 to place 83rd in her first collegiate competition. Junior Alex Papale (Wallingford, Conn.) placed 89th with a time of 28:10, followed by the duo of first year Gabby Lawinger (Arnold, Md.) and junior Courtney Hanrahan (Southampton, Mass.). Lawinger's collegiate debut produced a 91st-place effort on a time of 28:24, while Hanrahan clocked a 28:39 to place 92nd. Savannah-Nicole Villalba crossed the line 17 seconds later at 28:56 to finish 94th.

Juniors Colleen Dooley (Derry, N.H.) and Marilyn Baremore (East Lyme, Conn.) checked in at 98th and 99th place with respective times of 29:35 and 29:36. Senior Julie Pallozzi (Portland, Maine) and junior Amanda Cardonne (Chelmsford, Mass.) were separated by seven seconds, finishing 103rd and 104th, respectively with times of 30:45 and 31:49. Sophomores BryceLynn Cook (North Waterboro, Maine) and Emily Fowler (Chula Vista, Calif.) rounded out the Sharks' effort, placing 108th and 109th, respectively. Both were making their Simmons' debuts with times of 36:15 and 36:42, respectively.

The Sharks will run again on Saturday, September 20 when they compete at the Wellesley Invitational.