The Amherst women’s cross country team sent four runners to the James Early Invitational over fall break to compete against a strong field of division three competitors.

Amherst placed one runner, Monica Nimmagadda ’18 in the, top-100, as Nimmagadda’s time of 24:33.73 was good for an 88th place overall finish. First-year Kristin Ratliff finished 30 seconds behind Nimmagadda with a time of 25:03.23 that positioned her at 122nd out of the field of 459.

Kathryn McHenry ’17 followed right on Ratliff’s heels finishing her 5k in 25:20.63 and placing 148th, still in the top half of the overall field. The last Amherst runner in the field to cross the finish line was Amy Pass ’20, who finished in 277th place with a time of 27:00.35.

The purple and white returned to action the following weekend and earned second place at the annual Little Three Championship, hosted by Wesleyan. This championship pitted the purple and white against traditional NESCAC rivals, Williams and Wesleyan.

The purple and white have received second place in this tournament every year since winning their last Little Three title in 2007. In spite of Amherst’s best efforts, Williams, currently ranked third in the nation, has been all but invincible among NESCAC competition.

Amherst placed four runners in the top-20, including Katherine Treanor ’20, Nicky Roberts ’18, Cara Lembo ’17 and Savanna Gorniciewicz ’17. These four have all enjoyed stand out seasons and been consistent point scorers this fall.

Treanor led the pack and managed an exciting second place finish, with a time of 18:33.40. Spectators had to have their cameras ready, with her finish coming only 0.5 seconds ahead of Williams runner, Carmen Bango. Treanor would be the lone Amherst runner among a sea of Ephs, as only she and Roberts placed in the top-10.

Roberts’ time of 19:06.40 was good for 10th place, ahead of the first Wesleyan runner. Next, Lembo and Gorniciewicz ended the race only 0.5 seconds apart to finish 14th and 15th respectively.

Veronica Rocco ’19 was the last scoring runner to cross the finish line in 21st place, claiming a time of 19:33.6.

The purple and white travel to Colby on Saturday, Oct. 29, to compete in the NESCAC championship, the start of their official post-season competition.