Claremont, CA – The Occidental women's cross country team opened the 2023 season on Saturday at the Pomona-Pitzer Tri-Meet along with the University of La Verne.  The Tigers defeated the Leopards 34 to 74, but were edged by their Sagehen hosts who scored 27 points.  Considering the Sagehens came in second in the conference last year, this performance shows great promise for the Tiger season.

Sophomore Jenna LeNay and senior Ciara Gillen ran smart races and found themselves in the second and third spot, respectively.  LeNay was only six seconds behind leader Katie Cline of Pomona-Pitzer, finishing with a time of 14:56.  Gillen stayed tight with LeNay, crossing the line at 15:09 and comfortably earned third place.  Rosemary Peters, a first year, opened her collegiate career with a fifth place finish and time of 15:25.  Junior Merrick Hoel clocked in at 15:36 to claim the final spot in the top 10.

The team is back in action at the UC Riverside Invite on September 16, 2023.