ATTLEBORO, Mass.— The Babson College women's cross country team placed its top five runners between 47th and 70th place among the 190 competitors on the way to a fifth-place team finish at the at the season-opening Suffolk Short Course Classic on Saturday morning at Highland Park. 

The Beavers totaled 227 points to finish in fifth place overall, including second among the 15 Division III schools and first among the eight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) teams. Northeastern (30) won the 18-team event with New Hampshire (57) and Holy Cross (74) rounding out the top three and host Suffolk (157) the top Division III team and fourth overall, just ahead of Babson.

Sophomore Sophia Draxler (Montclair, N.J.) was the first Beaver across the finish line, coming in 47th place in a time of 12:19 on the 3K course. Senior Chloe Clifford (Marshfield, Mass.) was the next to finish in 51st place in 12:25, 16 seconds better than her time in the season opener on the same course last season. Senior Alexandra Kirkpatrick (Middleborough, Mass.) and first-year Ali Meyers (Darien, Conn.) came in 60th and 61st for the Beavers, Kirkpatrick finishing in 12:33 and Meyers in 12:37, and senior Avery Butt (Orange, Conn.) rounded out the team's top five, finishing 70th in 12:41.

Junior Taijah Harvey (Concord, Mass.) turned in a solid performance for the Beavers, placing 85th in a time of 12:56. First-year Sophia Nakakura (San Francisco, Calif.) crossed the line in 101st place in 13:10 in her collegiate debut, and sophomore Annabelle Svenson (Montclair, N.J.) was 113th in 13:27.

Rounding out the group of Babson runners were sophomore Ariana Van Ormer (Aliquippa, Pa.), 122nd in 13:41; junior Colleen Corman (Quaker Hill, Conn.), 125th in 13:43; junior Ava Newton (Danvers, Mass.), 137th in 14:00; and sophomore Brigid Kelly (Sandwich, Mass.), 152nd in 14:56.

Sophomore Ruth White of New Hampshire won the race with a time of 10:59, four seconds ahead of runner-up Siena Brunetti of Holy Cross, while Stephanie Kriss of Northeastern came in third in 11:05.

Babson returns to action at the Annual UMass Dartmouth Invitational in North Dartmouth, Mass. on September 20.