NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's cross country team had 10 of the top-11 finishers on its way to defeating Macalester College at the Cannon River Closer on Thursday at the St. Olaf Cross Country Course.

Three first years finished in the top four to help St. Olaf post a team score of 16 points to ease past Macalester's total of 47. Hamline University also had two runners in the five-kilometer race, which marked the end of the season for the teams' runners who will not be competing at the regional meet next week.

First year Sophie Stephens topped the 28-runner field by 22 seconds with a time of 19:08.0, followed by sophomore Anna-Britta Helmer in second (19:30.0). First year Abby Chestovich placed third (19:35.1), while first year Mary Clare Nussbaum was fourth (19:50.6).

Senior Siri Erickson and first year Alaya Drummond were separated by juts two-tenths of a second in sixth (20:08.2) and seventh (20:08.4), while junior Willemijn Leiner (8th, 20:13.4), junior Safiya Ait-Ali (9th, 20:14.9), junior Mia Ransavage (10th, 20:15.2), and senior Kathleen Madden (11th, 20:15.8) were also in the top 11.

St. Olaf will host the NCAA Division III North Region Championships at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14.