Liz Wheatley ’09 finished sixth out of 117 runners in the women’s race at the NESCAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, earning first-team all-NESCAC honors. Wheatley finished the six-kilometer race with a time of 22:32, just two seconds behind the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. Wheatley’s victory was one of the few bright spots for Wesleyan at the Championships, however, as the women finished eighth out of 11 teams overall, while the men came in ninth out of 11.

Other than Wheatley, the women had only one other runner in the top 60: Ravenna Neville ’10, who finished 18th with a time of 22:55. Anna Schindler ’09 (64th, 24:24), Tess Crain ’12 (95th, 25:24) and Jessica Levin ’11 (97th, 25:25) also scored for Wesleyan. The Cardinals ended with 219 team points, far ahead of its in-state rivals Connecticut College (ninth, 258) and Trinity (11th, 292) but well behind eighth-place finisher (and host) Bates, which finished with 156 team points. Middlebury and Williams tied for first with 48 team points, as the top five runners for both teams all finished in the top 15. Wesleyan has finished eighth in the last three Championships.

The top seven runners in each race earn first-team all-NESCAC accolades. Wheatley’s finish ensured Wesleyan would place a runner on the first team for the fifth time in the last six years, following two-time honorees Ellen Davis ’06 and Courtney Quirin ’04 (who both made the team in their junior and senior years).

Jonah Blumstein ’09 finished first among the Wesleyan men, coming in 22nd overall (out of 119 entrants) with a time of 26:33 in the eight-kilometer race. Charles Lang ’11 finished not far behind him, clocking in at 26:53 for 33rd place. Chris Foster ’09 (40th, 27:02), Matt Katz ’11 (56th, 27:23) and Mac Schneider ’12 (67th, 27:37) rounded out the top five for the Cardinals. Wesleyan finished with 202 team points, just three behind eighth-place Hamilton, which boasted the individual champion but had no other runners finish higher than 37th. The Cardinal men have finished ninth at the Championships for two consecutive seasons after finishing fifth or higher in the previous three.

On Saturday, Wesleyan will race in the ECAC Division III Meet in Bristol, R.I. The meet will serve as the Cardinals’ final tune-up before the NCAA New England regional qualifying races at Williams. The top 35 runners in the men’s and women’s races earn all-New England laurels, and the race also serves as a springboard for the NCAA Cross Country Championship. The top two teams qualify for the Championship, and up to three more teams may receive at-large bids (though only the top five teams are considered). Following this, the top seven remaining individuals (who are not members of the qualifying teams) are also selected to run in the NCAA Championship. A Wesleyan team or runner has qualified for the Championship every year since 2002, and the streak appears likely to continue this season.