WATERFORD, Conn.  -  The Coast Guard Academy women's cross country team raced at the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Park on Saturday morning. With 11 Teams ranked in the top 30 in the country competing, along with at least ten more holding regional rankings, the race was one of the most competitive NCAA DIII meets in the country this season. In the Blue Championship race, the women's team was able to finish 11th overall out of 38 scoring teams. Additionally, the women notched a victory over Merchant Marine, scoring the second point that day over the Mariners toward the Superintendent's Cup after the men's team beat them earlier on.

For the second race in a row, junior Claire Semerod led the Bears, with her time of 21:22 placing her at 7th overall and making her the second-fastest ever by a Coast Guard athlete at Harkness Park. Senior Paige Phillips was close behind at 21:35, good for 15th place. Junior Lauren Mellon was again the third finisher for the Bears, with her 22:30 marking her second meet in a row breaking her personal best. First-year Hannah Edwards stepped up for a fourth-place finish for Coast Guard and a new 6km personal best of 23:09. Seniors Sophia White (23:16) and Sidney Triepke (23:25) came in fifth and sixth, and junior Alexa Allen ran a 23:47 to mark Coast Guard's final top seven Varsity finisher.

In addition to Mellon and Edwards, first-year Sierra Wangen (24:22) and junior Jordan Prinner (24:38) also ran lifetime best 6km times in the sub-Varsity race.

The Bears' next race will be the NEWMAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2nd, hosted by Wellesley College at Nehoiden Golf Course. Coast Guard finished as runners-up to 18-time overall and 16-time defending champions MIT in last year's women's race, trailing the Engineers by just 12 points. Phillips ran a 22:40 for a second-place finish, eight seconds ahead of MIT's top runner at the meet, while Semerod and White placed fourth and seventh overall with times of 22:53 and 23:18, respectively.