MANCHESTER, Conn. – The No. 25 Connecticut College women's cross country team opened the 2026 season in style, winning the George Suitor Invitational on Saturday morning at Wickham Park.

The Camels produced the top-three finishers in the 5K race and placed five runners inside the top 21. Conn's 42 points put them atop the field of 11 teams, with runner-up RPI (61) and host Trinity College (77) rounding out the top three.

Kiera Tallas (Fountain Valley, Calif.) earned medalist honors for the first time in her career, breaking the tape in a time of 17:33.2 to best the field of 138 runners. April Schilling (Amherst, Mass.) and Abby Williams (Waterville, Maine) were next across the line with times of 17:47.5 and 17:51.9, respectively. 

Schilling paced the Camels and trailed only Westfield State's Reese Stevens at the one-mile marker. She then held the race lead at the 3K mark as Tallas slotted up to second and Williams to third. Tallas closed strong over the final 2K, snatching away the overall lead while building a 14-second cushion to her teammates.  

Newcomers Maddalena Figueroa-Starr (Holyoke, Mass.) and Hannah Petersen (Brookline, Mass.) completed the scoring for the Camels. The former finished 15th overall in 19:30.3 while the latter placed 21st in 19:37.5. Juliet Provost (Seekonk, Mass.) and Mary Lonergan (Andover, Mass.) rounded out Conn's top-7 on the day.

Conn will next compete at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday, September 19.