DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The No. 21 Connecticut College women's cross country team finished fourth out of 45 teams at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday morning at the Robert Dowd Cross Country Course.

The Camels put on a strong performance in a competitive field that included programs from NCAA Division I, II and III. Conn finished the day with 159 points, trailing only DI programs Brown University (39), Northeastern University (44) and the University of Rhode Island (139). 

Muddy course conditions yielded slower-than-normal times, as Northeastern's Tessa McClain took medalist honors with a time of 17:31.99 over the 5K course. Abby Fernald (Avon, Conn.) was the first DIII finisher across the line in 18:12.08, good enough for 17th place overall.

The rest of the Camels weren't far behind, as the spread between Conn's top-5 was just 46 seconds. Grace McDonough (Londonderry, N.H.) finished 28th in 18:24.44 while Alsacia Timmerman (Morrisville, Vt.) crossed in 37th with a time of 18:42.24. Abby Williams (Waterville, Maine) and Addie Fuller (Eliot, Maine) rounded out the scoring for the Camels, finishing 41st (18:54.54) and 43rd (18:58.40), respectively.

Kiera Tallas (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and April Schilling (Amherst, Mass.) filled out Conn's top-7. Tallas took home 44th in 19:00.28 while Schilling placed 47th in 19:06.81. All told, the Camels had seven of the top-10 DIII finishers in the race.

Conn will next compete at the DIII Pre-National in Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday, October 4 at 8:00 p.m.