TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Against the toughest competition, the No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis women's cross country team finished in 10th place at the 2024 NCAA Div. III National Championship in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Bears finished with 361points to secure its top 10 finish.
MIT won the team title with 128 points with Chicago finishing as national runner-up with 138 points. Williams (155 points), NYU (177 points), and Johns Hopkins (256 points) rounded out the top five teams.
Colorado College (277 points), Emory (294 points), Washington and Lee (298 points), and SUNY Geneseo (256 points) finished in fifth through ninth place, respectively.
Senior Abby Patterson was the top finisher for the Bears in 62nd place, securing 49 points for WashU. She crossed the finish line in 22:04.2. With such a close field, first-year Lucinda Laughlin was just seven seconds behind A. Patterson, finishing in 75th place, scoring 58 points for the Bears with a time of 22:11.2.
Senior Julia Patterson was the third Bear to cross the line in 103rd place with a time of 22:23.2. Junior Jillian Heth was fourth for WashU in 116th place with a mark of 22:27.0. Junior Katie Rector was the final point scorer for the Bears with a time of 22:32.0, crossing the finish line in 132 place.
Also running for WashU were first-year Lauren Raley (175th, 22:48.3) and senior Sophie Bekins (202nd, 23:00.9).
A total of 290 runners started and finished the race, with everyone finishing within a five minute span.
