The William Smith cross country team earned its first victory of the season, capturing the Bridgeman Invitational 5K Saturday morning. Senior Hope Johnson and sophomore Bella Miller led the Herons to victory with a 1-2 overall finish. In fact, the Herons had five of the race’s top seven finishers.
Johnson’s second collegiate victory came in a time of 21:17.6, 22.4 seconds ahead of Miller. It’s the first time William Smith has had the top two finishers in a race since the 2022 CCOC Championships. Sophomore Megan Ingraham was fourth overall, crossing the line at 23:02, less than two seconds behind the third-place runner.
TOP HERON FINISHERS
- Hope Johnson, 1st, 21:17.6
- Bella Miller, 2nd, 21:40.0
- Megan Ingraham, 4th, 23:02.0
- Salma Menkari, 6th, 23:55.3
- Arawen Leasure, 7th, 23:57.0
TEAM STANDINGS
William Smith finished with a team score of 20 points, 28 points ahead of runner-up Hudson Valley CC. Keuka took third place followed by Herkimer CC and Erie CC.
COACH’S CORNER
“This was a complete team performance. To get the win today and also have some strong individual finishes show how deep and determined this group is. They showed toughness, trust and belief in one another – this is exactly what we’ve been building toward.” —Head Coach Tyler Wilkie
ON THE HORIZON
- The Herons will run their first championship distance race of the season on Saturday, Sept. 20 when they compete in the 6K Yellowjacket Invitational hosted by the University of Rochester.
