WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary women's cross country opens the 2023 season at the Spider Alumni Open on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va. 
 
The Tribe competes at the Spiders Alumni Open for the first time since the 2021 spring season. The college men's 6k begins at 9:15 a.m. with the college women's 4K to follow at 9:50. The event will utilize the same 2K loop course which will be used for the 2024 USATF National Cross Country Championships. Pole Green Park will also be the site of the 2023 CAA Championships.
 
The Tribe is among 14 programs competing on the women's side. Joining W&M and the host Spiders at American, Christopher Newport, Davis & Elkins, Delaware, George Mason, Georgetown, Hampton, James Madison, Longwood, VCU, and VMI.
 
News and Notes
- W&M opens the season ranked No. 14 in the preseason USTFCCCA Southeast Region.
 
- The Tribe returns all seven athletes that competed in the NCAA Southeast Regional and all nine that competed at the CAA Championships.
 
- A trio of W&M players return for the 2023 after earning All-CAA honors in their careers. Sophomore Sofia Istnick and junior Arianna DeBoer garnered all-league honors last season after placing eighth and ninth at the championship meet. Istnick went on to be named the CAA Rookie of the Year of her efforts. Senior Kyra Holland is a two-time All-CAA performer in her career, including a third-place finish at the CAA Championships in 2021.
 
- As a team, the Tribe finished fourth at the CAA Championships and 14th at the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2023.
 
- Along with returning its top performers from a year ago, the Tribe welcomes four newcomers. Graduate Heidi Fortin joins the Tribe after a standout career at The Citadel where she was the Bulldogs' top finisher at the Southeast Regional the last two years. W&M also welcomes trio of freshmen in Paige Dumont, Taylor Gibson and Becca Harkness.