ATTLEBORO, Mass.— The Babson College women's cross country team placed its top five runners in the top 50 among the 202 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 181 points to finish in fifth place overall among 18 teams, improving on the 227 points from last year's fifth-place finish. Babson was fourth among the 17 Division III programs, and first among the four New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) teams. New Hampshire (36) won the team title with Johnson & Wales (62), Suffolk (139), and Westfield State (163) rounding out the top four.

First-years accounted for the top two and three of the top five Babson finishers in the 3K race. Anastatia Marich (Mequon, Wis.) was the first Beaver across the finish line, coming in 28th in a time of 12:23, while Sumaria Charron (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) finished 32nd in 12:29. Junior Sophia Draxler (Montclair, N.J.) placed 37th in a time of 12:34, sophomore Ali Meyers (Darien, Conn.) was 42nd in 12:38, and first-year Tory Meran (Boca Raton, Fla.) was 48th in 12:49.

Sophomore Sophia Nakakura (San Francisco, Calif.) finished 87th for the Beavers in a time of 13:26, while seniors Taijah Harvey (Concord, Mass.) and junior Ava Newton (Danvers, Mass.) were 96th and 98th, respectively, in 13:36 and 13:37.

Johnson & Wales junior Amanada Intrieri won the race in a time of 10:43, while Suffolk senior Sofia Moukaddem was runner-up in 11:23.

Babson returns to action at the Ellen O'Neil Invitational at Smith College on September 19.