HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University women's cross country team finished seventh out of nine teams at the Houghton Highlander XC Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Saxons defeated Alfred State College and Keuka College by a hefty margin, scoring 194 compared to A-State's 258 and Keuka's 267. "The ladies did a great job executing their race strategy," Head Coach Matt Phillips '10 said. "Watching everyones smiles as they crossed the finish line was icing on the cake! Very proud of them today."
 
The Saxons were 12 minutes faster than the 2021 team at the Houghton Invite. McKenzie Hall (Hornell, NY/Hornell) was the top finisher, running a 24:40.9 personal best time for 24^th place. Mari Jablonski (Monticello, GA/Jasper County) was the next AU runner to cross the finish line with a time of 25:18.4 in 40^th place.
 
Sarah Lutkins (Union Springs, NY/Union Springs), Ashley O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) and Sam Arthurs (Lynchburg, VA/E.C. Glass) all had season best times while Lutkins' time was a personal best as well. She finished 45^th with a time of 25:37.7. O'Toole led a group of Saxons in 64^th place (27:02.4). Ivy Vallely (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) was 65^th (27:39.6) and Arthurs was in 66^th place (27:46.1).
 
"If you asked me to describe today in one word it would be trust. We trusted coach's plan, he trusted us to give it our all, and the outcome was outstanding," Lutkins said. "I can't wait to attack the same course again in a few weeks and show the conference what AU has to offer."
 
The Saxons will next compete at the Empire 8 Championships, hosted by Houghton University on Saturday, October 29.