NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Saint Joseph's College of Maine women's cross country team competed at the 2025 Colby-Sawyer Charger Invitational on Saturday morning. Racing in a competitive GNAC-heavy field, the Monks secured a third-place team finish with 52 points on the 5K course at Colby-Sawyer College.

"It was exciting to watch our women kick off the season," Head Coach Mike Burleson adds.  "With only one upperclassman, they competed like seasoned veterans from gun to finish. This is a special team, full of talent and character. It'll be exciting to see where the next few months take us."

NEED TO KNOW:

At the 2024 Colby-Sawyer Invitational, the Monks placed third overall with 75 points, finishing behind Colby-Sawyer (28 points) and Emmanuel (64 points). Then-freshman Haley Williams (Winthrop, Maine) paced the team with a 6th-place finish in 21:10, followed closely by Alexia Young (12th, 22:07) and Bella Koepsell (13th, 22:08).

This year, Saint Joseph's once again claimed third place but showed marked improvement, dropping their team score to 52 points and cutting nearly a full minute off their team average. Freshman Isabella Anderson (Appleton, Maine) impressed with a 3rd-place finish in 20:21 in her collegiate debut, while Williams and fellow first-year Amber Pendleton both secured top-15 spots. The Monks averaged 21:36 per runner with a 2:44 5-man spread, showcasing greater depth and balance than a year ago.

THE RUNDOWN:

Colby-Sawyer claimed the team title with 39 points, paced by a 1-2 individual finish from seniors Adriana Nadeau and Leah O'Neill. Norwich followed closely in second with 50 points, while Saint Joseph's rounded out the top three with 52.

• 1st – Colby-Sawyer, 39 points

• 2nd – Norwich, 50 points

• 3rd – Saint Joseph's, 52 points
   

TOP FINISHERS:

• Adriana Nadeau (Colby-Sawyer) – first place, 19:44

• Leah O'Neill (Colby-Sawyer) – second place, 20:04

• Isabella Anderson (St. Joseph's, Me.) – third place, 20:21

FOR THE MONKS:

• Freshman, Isabella Anderson (Appleton, Maine) – 3rd place, 20:21

• Sophomore, Haley Williams (Winthrop, Maine) – 5th place, 20:50

• Freshman, Amber Pendleton (Scarborough, Maine) – 11th place, 21:28

• Senior, Alexia Young (Rochester, N.H.) – 14th place, 22:14

• Sophomore, Olivia Bean (South Portland, Maine) – 19th place, 23:04

• Sophomore, Kiley Webber (Freeport, Maine) – 25th place, 25:16

• Sophomore, Madalyn Guindon (Saco, Maine) – 31st place, 27:34

UP NEXT!

The Monks will return to action at the Ron Ouellette Invitational on September 6th hosted by University of New England.