WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College cross country kicked off the 2025 year by winning the annual 5k Wellesley Invitational on Friday night at Nehoiden Golf Club. The Blue had the top three finishers in a 39-runner field and compiled a winning score of 20 points to defeat Brandeis University, Mount Holyoke College and Simmons University.

Senior Ella Whinney (Madison, Wis.) had the top individual time, crossing the finish line at 19:03.6. First-year Lucy Kontos (Lexington, Mass.) impressed with a debuting time of 19:08.3. Senior Emily Brydges (Suffield, Conn.) rounded out the podium in third place, completing the 5k course in 19:08.9.

Brandeis had the 4-5 spots and took second in the team competition with a score of 38. Mount Holyoke collected third with 82 points and Simmons took fourth with a score of 120.

Senior Claire Peng (Chapel Hill, N.C.) scored a sixth place finish to point for the Blue, coming in at 19:27.6. Classmate Simone Beauchamp (Aurora, Colo.) and first-year Cadence Chang (Boston, Mass.) both broke the 20-minute mark as well. Beauchamp finished eighth with a time of 19:38.1. Chang placed ninth, clocking in at 19:40.3.

Also competing for Wellesley was first-years Zoë Cort (San Francisco, Calif.) (11th - 20:17.2), Dylan Burmeister (Nobleboro, Maine) (12th - 20:19.0), senior Elise Lanahan (Greenville, S.C.) (15th - 20:33.4), first-year Sophia Trabuco (Rochester, Minn.) (20th - 20:54.2), sophomore Leah Willis (Mercersburg, Pa.) (22nd - 21:38.8), junior Perry Huang Kemper (Boise, Idaho) (26th - 21:57.5), sophomore Addie Maguire (Oakland, Calif.) (29th - 22:31.2), junior Maggie Yan ((Montvale, N.J.) (31st - 22:43.3) and senior Caelan Schretzmayer (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) (32nd - 23:22.0).

The Blue will return to action at the Pop Crowell Invite, hosted at Gordon College, on Saturday, September 13.