WESTFIELD, Mass. – Bennington College senior Annika Kristiansen (Keene, N.H.) helped the Southern Vermont College women's cross country team take third place at Saturday's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship as she finished first overall at Stanley Park to claim the individual title and become the league's 2017 Runner of the Year.
Kristiansen was her squad's first runner to win a conference championship race since Shelby Whitman '17 did so in 2014.
A pair of Mountaineers placed in the top five while another three found themselves in the top 20. SVC chalked up 61 team points—finishing just four behind a second-place Elms College crew. Lesley University had an amazing showing to claim the team title as seven Lynx positioned in the top 10.
Select Mountaineers will now prepare for the NCAA Division III New England Regional Qualifier which will take place on November 11 at Southern Maine University; the 6,000 meter race is set to begin at 11 a.m.
"They did everything they could do physically to win it all," SVC first-year head coach Jarrett Blankenship said of his team, "but I think for them to get third is a pretty big accomplishment. I think all the women were pretty stoked with the result; they're all in love with the sport, which is awesome, and the culture of the program seems really good right now."
Kristiansen came through first overall to take home the Runner of the Year award with a time of 20:10; that was just six seconds behind her SVC all-time record for a 5,000 meter race. Her showing helped the Bennington senior make it onto the All-NECC First Team for the third-straight year.
Also collecting First Team honors was Bennington senior Isabella Poulos (Milwaukee, Wis.), who did so for the second consecutive season, as she came through fifth at 21:00 to tie her best mark of the year.
After the pair of Bennington seniors, SVC's finishers were all making their first appearance in a collegiate cross country championship—a few of those being brand-new to the sport this season.
"We had a lot of new faces and a lot of people who had never run cross country before," Blankenship noted. "This whole year was really just about trying to give them a good experience; obviously you want to win, but—especially with first-time runners—you really just want to make it fun and enjoyable, and then you can set some realistic goals for them."
SVC freshman Emily Ikonen (Hubbardston, Mass.) was third for the team as she was 19th overall with a time of 24:06, and senior rookie Lexia Gillette (Pittsfield, Mass.) was right behind at 20th with a 24:25.
Junior rookie Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) took 11 seconds off of her previous personal best to chart a 24:33 and round out Southern Vermont's five scoring placements, and classmate Stephany Ferreira (Shelton, Conn.) was next for the Mountaineers with a PR of her own as she knocked off 27 seconds from her old low to register a 25:07. Freshman Faith Sullivan (Bennington, Vt.) completed her first collegiate championship with a 31:29 showing.
Southern Vermont College
1st – Annika Kristiansen: 20:10
5th – Isabella Poulos: 21:00
19th – Emily Ikonen: 24:06
20th – Lexia Gillette: 24:25
22nd – Maddy Main: 24:33 (PR)
27th – Stephany Ferreira: 25:07 (PR)
44th – Faith Sullivan: 31:29
– #LetsGoSVC –