Depth Carries Athenas to Eighth-Straight SCIAC Title, McKillop First

CHINO, Calif. – The No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's cross country team placed five runners in the top ten and 12 in the top 24 to claim their eighth-straight SCIAC Championship on Saturday morning. Running at Prado Park in Chino, the Athenas ran away from the field, scoring 30 team points, topping second-place Occidental (80 points) by 50 points. Bryn McKillop (SC) continued her impressive senior season by winning the individual title in a time of 22:36.55 in the 6K race.

McKillop was four seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Whittier's Julissa Tobias (22:40.32). Just seconds behind McKillop and Tobias was Pomona-Pitzer's Lauren Hamilton (22:43.81).

Leading the next wave of runners was CMS junior, Malea Martin (CMC). Martin crossed the line in 23:16.93 and led a pack of seven runners that rounded out the top ten. Joining Martin in the pack were teammates, Roselyn Cantu (CMC), Abigale Johnson (SC), and Kyleigh Mann (CMC.

Martin finished in fourth with Cantu (7th - 23:26.88), Johnson (8th - 23:27.26), and Mann (10th - 23:37.21) close behind to round out the scoring for the Athenas. Across the Athenas top five, CMS held an average time of 23:16.97. That time would have placed fifth in the field and was the lowest average time for any team by more than a minute.

Ellen Berkley (CMC) and Dulcie Jones (SC) took 12th and 14th place, respectively, to displace points from the other SCIAC teams. Berkley crossed the line in 24:05.22 and Jones finished just over five seconds later at 24:10.47.

The Athenas were picked as the preseason favorites by the SCIAC coaches back in August thanks in large part to their depth. That depth was on display on Saturday. For example, Occidental, who finished runner-up in the team standings to CMS, had their fifth runner cross the finish line in 26th place. That runner finished behind 12 CMS runners on Saturday.

A total of 19 Athenas finished the race in less than 26 minutes.

As mentioned, McKillop claimed the individual title with a run of 22:36.55. It was her sixth victory in a race this season.

The team title is the eighth-straight for the Athenas and the 27th in program history. The victory also marks their 21st title in the last 24 seasons.

CMS will next run two weeks from today at the NCAA Regionals hosted by Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 11.