In its final week of competition, the Amherst women’s cross country team managed to clinch seventh place out of 59 teams at the New England Regional Championship held at Westfield State University.

As had been the case all year, first-year Katherine Treanor and junior Nicky Roberts were outstanding for the purple and white. Treanor placed third overall in the 406 runner field, with a time of 21:22.37, trailing second place finisher Megan McCandless of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by a mere six seconds and first place Brittany Bowman of Tufts by eight.

Last week, Treanor was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year and to the all-conference first team following her impressive debut campaign and her third place finish at the league championships. Treanor, hailing from Chevy Chase, Maryland, followed in the footsteps of sophomore Lizzie Lacy, who clinched the award just last year, as well as the NESCAC individual title.

Earning 28th place was another one of this year’s stars for the purple and white, Roberts. She clocked a time of 22:06.50, and cemented her status as a consistent force for Amherst this year, often finishing behind Treanor for second place on the team.
Veronica Rocco ’19 rounded out the top three Amherst runners, continuing her breakout sophomore year. She claimed 52nd place and a time of 22:30.16.

Seniors Cara Lembo and Savanna Gornisiewicz also finished strong for the team, notching times of 22:32.61, and 22:36.02 respectively. This was good enough to grant Lembo 55th overall and Gornisiewicz 57th.

Tess Frenzel ’17 and Cat Lowdon ’17 were also notable veteran contributors, with the two seniors earning 79th and 83rd place respectively.

Though impressive, the seventh place finish at regionals wasn’t enough for the purple and white to recieve an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. Only the top two teams automatically qualified, while just three teams from the region garnered the much-sought after at-large bids. Thus, Amherst’s season as a team came to a close on Satuday with the loss.

However, due to her remarkable third place finish, Treanor’s season isn’t quite over as she recieved an invite to nationals as an individual qualifier. Thus, Treanor will compete on her own on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Spalding University in Kentucky.