The William & Mary women's cross country team wrapped up the 2021 winter cross country season on Friday morning at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, scoring 101 points to finish fourth overall, and just 15 points out of second.  Elon won the team title for the second year in a row with 35 points, while Northeastern finished second (86 points) just in front of James Madison (90).  Behind the Tribe, Delaware was fifth with 109 points and College of Charleston, Hofstra, and UNCW rounded out the field.  Elon's Maria Ahm won the 6K individual title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in 19:37.3.

For W&M, top honors were taken by a freshman for the second year in a row.  Kyra Holland (Warrenton, Va.) ran 20:11.8 to finish third overall, tying the all-time Tribe record for the best finish by a rookie.  That places her alongside names such as Hall-of-Famer Cathy Stanmeyer '92 and all-time All-American Elaina Balouris '14 and Emily Stites '16 as the fastest first-year runners ever for the Green and Gold.  Senior Lauren Finikiotis (Gibsonia, Pa.) also earned All-CAA honors with her 12th-place finish in 20:37.3.  Finikiotis is just the ninth woman ever at W&M to be named All-CAA in cross country four times in her career, and the first since Balouris completed the quad in 2013.

Freshman Annie Wicker (Sewickley, Pa.) was third on the team, taking 20th in her first conference meet with a time of 20:48.0, and redshirt-junior Taylor D. Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) was 30th in 21:28.9.  A third freshman, Lily Schlossberg (Virginia Beach, Va.) was 36th overall in 21:35.8 to finish the scoring for W&M, and the top seven were rounded out by sophomore Kaycee Cox-Philyaw (Linden, Va.), 21:40.5 for 38th place, and freshman Emily Morris (Glen Allen, Va.), who crossed the line in 44th place at 22:03.6.  In total, six of the Tribe's top-10 finishers were either true or redshirt-freshmen and seven of the 12 total runners at today's race are in their first or second years of eligibility, pointing to a very bright future for W&M.

With the cross county season complete, attention turns to the outdoor track & field campaign, which will begin next Saturday, March 13, with a meet at Navy.

2021 Colonial Athletic Association Women's Cross Country Championships
Old Fort Golf Course, Winnabow, N.C.

Team Standings
1. Elon 35
2. Northeastern 86
3. James Madison 90
4. William & Mary 101
5. Delaware 109
6. College of Charleston 124
7. Hofstra 163
8. UNCW 222

All-Conference Team
1. Maria Ahm (ELON) 19:37.3
2. Miranda Stanhope (JMU) 19:49.7
3. Kyra Holland (W&M) 20:11.8
4. Maggie Springer (ELON) 20:13.4
5. Tina Capparell (UD) 20:14.5
6. Tessa McClain (NU) 20:16.4
7. Leandra Lorenz (ELON) 20:22.1
8. Jordyn McDonnell (HU) 20:28.1
9. Anna Twomey (ELON) 20:29.3
10. Jessica Pidgeon (UD) 20:30.1
11. Sophia Masciarelli (HU) 20:32.4
12. Lauren Finikiotis (W&M) 20:37.3
13. Tess Masselink (COFC) 20:37.6
14. Hannah Preeo (ELON) 20:40.1

Other W&M Runners
20. Annie Wicker 20:48.0
30. Taylor D. Jones 21:28.9
36. Lily Schlossberg 21:35.8
38. Kaycee Cox-Philyaw 21:40.5
44. Emily Morris 22:03.6
46. Olivia Haller 22:06.3
48. Julia Lambert 22:15.4
49. Emily Sell 22:17.4
55. Megan Kolbe 22:31.7
59. Lauren Kroepfl 22:48.3