GORHAM, ME – The Saint Joseph's College women's cross country team placed 15th with 444 team points in the University of Southern Maine Invitational 5K on Saturday. Junior Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) paced the Monks and finished 82nd out of 243 runners with a 20:08 effort.

MIT captured top team honors with 52 points in the meet, which featured 19 programs, including some of the most competitive squads in the New England Region. Tufts University was the runner-up with 54 points while Bates College (86 points), Colby College (137) and Connecticut College (165) rounded out the top five competing teams.

Junior Hannah Zydanowicz won the race with an 18:10.72 performance, less than one second faster than runner-up Kaitlin Allen (18:11.45) of MIT. Bates sophomore Hannah Zeltner placed third (18:19), Tufts second-year Olivia Beltrani (18:23) was fourth and Bowdoin sophomore Lucy Skinner (18:24) finished fifth in the event.

For the Monks, sophomore Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) placed 123rd (20:43), freshman Marie Harrington (Limerick, Maine) was 155th (21:29), junior captain Audrey Curry (Perry, Maine) finished 207th (23:21) and junior Victoria Ramos (North Scituate, R.I.) was 221st (24:57). Junior Melissa Deplanche (Dover, N.H.) (224, 25:23), freshman Cynthia Andrews (Seal Harbor, Maine) (225, 25:39) and senior Sarah Bakun (Clinton, Mass.) (239, 30:14) also competed for the Monks.

Saint Joseph's will race in the Bowdoin College Invitational next Saturday.

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.