The women's cross-country team, ranked No. 10 in the New England region, bolted to a strong start in its first meet of the 2012 season, notching a 34-25 win against the University of Southern Maine last Friday at Weston High School.

The Judges boasted seven of the top 10 finishers in the race, edging out the Huskies by nine points. While USM junior Molly Carl won the race in 17 minutes, 51 seconds, Victoria Sanford '14 and Ali Kirsch '14 were not far behind, both crossing the finish line in 18:06 to take second and third place, respectively.

While USM junior Morgan Beede finished fourth at 18:15, junior Hannah Wiley placed sixth with a time of 18:36, the Judges took care of business by securing five of the six other top 10 finishes. Erin Bisceglia '12, MA '13 rounded out the top five with a time of 18:25, and Kristi Pisarik '15 followed in seventh place with 19:10. Kelsey Whitaker '16, Molly Paris '16 and Maggie Hensel '16 shined in their collegiate debuts with three top 10 finishes with a time of 19:31.

Nora Owens '16 and Rachel Keller '16 also performed well in their first meet, notching 17th -and 18th- place finishes, respectively. Owens clocked in at 19:48, while Keller completed the race in 20:01.

The squad next competes at the Shriner's Invitational at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on Sept. 15.