WATERFORD, Conn. – The No. 12-ranked St. Olaf College women's cross country team finished fourth out of 26 teams in a field that included 10 nationally-ranked programs at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday at Harkness Park.

Led by a 16th-place finish by sophomore Lauren Walda, St. Olaf accumulated 157 points in the team standings, trailing fifth-ranked NYU (36), No. 23-ranked Central College (130), and No. 24-ranked Vassar College (138). The Oles were 14 points ahead of No. 27-ranked Middlebury College and 25 points ahead of No. 30-ranked Connecticut College.

Walda led a quartet of 6K personal-best times for St. Olaf's top-four finishers by completing the course in 21:56.9, breaking her previous fastest time of 22:21.0 set at the same meet a year ago. Senior Katie Gebert was the second Ole to cross the line, doing so in 29th place in 22:23.7, which was a PR by 10 seconds ahead of her time of 22:34.6 from last season's Connecticut College Invite.

Sophomore Grace Moeller, junior Sophie Abernethy, and senior Julia Everest were separated by less than seven seconds to round out St. Olaf's five scorers. Moeller and Abernethy both bested their previous 6K PRs by over 25 seconds in 33rd and 39th with times of 22:29.7 and 22:34.7, respectively, while senior Julia Everest was one spot behind Abernethy in 40th in 22:36.5.

While St. Olaf's top-10 runners were competing on the East Coast, the rest of the team ran at the Tori Neubauer Invitational at Maple Grove Venues LLC in West Salem, Wis., placing second in the 20-team standings with 146 points. Junior Jules Fromm led the way for the Oles in 24th place (23:45.9), followed closely by first year Molly DiNardo in 28th (23:53.8).

St. Olaf returns to action in two weeks at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships, hosted by Carleton College on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 12 p.m.