LEBANON, Pa. — One point. That was all that separated St. Mary’s College of Maryland from Cedar Crest at the United East Conference cross country championships, and it was enough to keep the Seahawks’ title streak alive.
St. Mary’s College scored 62 points to Cedar Crest’s 63 on Nov. 1 to win the women’s team championship, according to SMCM Athletics. It is the program’s sixth straight United East women’s title. The Seahawks won their fifth straight last fall, the Chronicle reported.
Junior Ella Mitchell of Baltimore led the way again, finishing second overall in 23 minutes, 19.3 seconds. She was also the runner-up at last year’s championship. In cross country, a team’s score is the sum of its top five runners’ places, so depth decides close meets, and St. Mary’s put five runners in the top 20.
Seahawk finishers
| Place | Runner | Year | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ella Mitchell | Junior | 23:19.3 |
| 13 | Maggie Tsambikos | First year | 26:42.8 |
| 14 | Avery Arizzi | Senior | 27:00.6 |
| 18 | Madison Kingsley | Senior | 27:22.8 |
| 19 | Weiya Carter | Senior | 27:26.4 |
| 20 | Elise Geiger | Senior | 27:41.5 |
| 22 | Molly Hieatzman | 27:50.5 | |
| 24 | Alexis Hodges | 28:28.3 | |
| 25 | Sophie Reed | Senior | 28:34.6 |
The scoring five behind Mitchell came from across the roster. First-year Maggie Tsambikos of Finksburg was the Seahawks’ second runner in 13th, followed by seniors Avery Arizzi of Arnold, Madison Kingsley of White Hall and Weiya Carter of Havre de Grace.
The team also had a local finisher. Senior Elise Geiger, a Leonardtown native on the Seahawks’ roster, placed 20th in 27:41.5 as the team’s sixth runner. A sixth and seventh runner don’t add to a team’s score, but they can push down opponents’ places, and in a meet decided by a single point, every spot counted.
Behind St. Mary’s and Cedar Crest, Penn State Harrisburg, Lancaster Bible and Penn State Berks rounded out the team standings.
Up next
The Seahawks now turn to the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional later this month. Mitchell led St. Mary’s at last year’s regional, according to SMCM Athletics. The St. Mary’s College men’s team finished second at the same championship meet.
