SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College women's cross country team had an interesting Saturday morning at Western New England University's Golden Bear Invitational as the Mountaineers ran—what will likely turn out to be—the longest race of their collegiate careers.

The women's race was supposed to be a 6,000 meter event. However, due to a mismarked course, all of the participants ended up running an additional 380 meters.

WNEU provided adjusted results that listed 6K times for the competitors; four of the six Mountaineers set first-time personal records for the distance while a fifth broke her previous best. Southern Vermont finished seventh out of the nine squads that placed.

SVC is off next weekend as the team gears up for the New England Collegiate Conference Championship to be held on Saturday, October 28 at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.

Bennington College senior Annika Kristiansen (Keene, N.H.) led the Mountaineers as she came through ninth overall with an adjusted 6K time of 25:15; that was 13 seconds faster than her pervious personal best and moved her up to fifth on SVC's all-time record list. She was followed by Bennington classmate and captain Isabella Poulos (Milwaukee, Wis.) who crossed the real finish line at 28:26 for 24th overall.

SVC junior rookie Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) was next for Southern Vermont with an adjusted time of 30:15—that being just 50 seconds shy of tying for the school's 13th all-time best mark in a 6K. Freshman Emily Ikonen (Hubbardston, Mass.) was right behind with an adjusted 30:18, and senior rookie Lexia Gillette (Pittsfield, Mass.) rounded out the team's scoring placements with an official 31:49 in her first collegiate 6K. Freshman Faith Sullivan (Bennington, Vt.) charted an adjusted time of 39:52 in her first showing on a longer course.

Southern Vermont College
Complete 6.38K Time / Adjusted 6K Time
9th – Annika Kristiansen: 26:52 / 25:15 (PR)
24th – Isabella Poulos: 28:26 / 26:44
57th – Maddy Main: 32:11 / 30:15 (PR)
60th – Emily Ikonen: 32:14 / 30:18 (PR)
74th – Lexia Gillette: 33:50 / 31:49 (PR)
94th – Faith Sullivan: 42:24 / 39:52 (PR)

– #LetsGoSVC –