NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (Oct. 27, 2012) – The Mount Holyoke College cross country team had a strong showing at this year's NEWMAC Championships, placing seventh among the 10 competing teams in the 5k race. The Lyons were paced by first year Elizabeth DeLeon, who finished 25th overall.

DeLeon posted a time of 19:39.65 in the 5k event, which featured 145 runners. Sophomore Dana Fry (Avon, Conn./Miss Porter's School) also had a solid finish, posting 44th overall with a time of 20:15.88.

Senior Julia Merton (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) crossed the finish line in 20:38.40 to finish 53rd overall, while junior Lucia Garcia (Bakersfield, Calif./East Bakersfield) was 67th with a time of 20:55.78. Senior Phoebe Tengdin (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) rounded out the top five in 77th with a time of 21:14.00 (pictured on the left).

Sophomore Elizabeth Baker (Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore Catholic School) was 93rd with a mark of 21:47.15, while first year Hillary Detert (Brunswick, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) rounded out the team scoring in 96th with a time of 21:55.50.

Also competing for the Lyons was junior Katherine Schlusser (Carlisle, Pa./Trinity), who was just behind Detert in 97th with a time of 21:57.35. First year Madeline McNally (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene) was 100th with a time of 22:03.56, while senior Elizabeth MacLauchlan (Somers, Conn./Somers) posted a time of 22:29.07, good for 109th.

Fellow NEWMAC-rival MIT was dominant in Saturday's race, claiming each of the top eight finishing times, led by Brooke Johnson's winning time of 18:30.07. As a team, the Engineers won the women's team category with 15 points.  Mount Holyoke finished the day with 188 points.

The Lyons are back in action on November 10 when they compete at the 2012 NCAA Regional Championship, hosted by Westfield State at 12pm.