Bloss, Bitetti Earn Major SCIAC Honors for CMS Women's Cross Country

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Meredith Bloss was named the SCIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Natalie Bitetti earned the Newcomer of the Year honor, the league accounted today.

The CMS coaching staff of head coach Marina Muncan and assistant Chris Ramirez and Jessika Sninscak also earned the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year honor, while a total of ten Athenas earned All-SCIAC distinction. 

Bloss earned the Athlete of the Year honor after taking first place at the SCIAC Championships to lead the Athenas to the team title, their 11th in a row. She also set the CMS record for a 6K race earlier this season, competing at the UC Riverside Invitational. 

Bitetti, meanwhile, earned first-team All-SCIAC honors with a fourth-place finish at the league championships. She also was the highest CMS finisher at the NCAA Division III Pre-Nationals, where the Athenas earned a dominant team title. 

Joining Bloss and Bitetti as first-team All-SCIAC selections were Riley Harmon, who finished second to Bloss in the individual race, Emily Clarke, Sophie Gitlin and Angie Gushue. Second-team honors went to Mallorie Jenne, Laura Zimmer, Chloe Taylor and Brooklyn Button, as CMS accounted for half of the 20 all-league honorees. 

CMS will be back in action next weekend for the NCAA Division III West Regionals at Pomona-Pitzer, where it will be trying to qualify as a team by finishing in the top two for the 13th year in a row.