UTICA, N.Y.—The William Smith College cross country team made a triumphant return to racing, capturing the team title at the SUNY Poly Short Course Invitational this morning. The Herons placed its top five finishers in the top 13 to secure the top podium spot by six points over runner-up Oneonta.

Abby Palin paced William Smith, covering the 4-kilometer course in 18:04 to finish fifth overall. She was five seconds ahead of Ruby Auman, who took seventh place. Erin Howe and Mikayla Gullace crossed the line in succession to place 11th and 12th, respectively. Howe clocked in at 18:36.1, with Gullace five seconds back. Gillian Parrett completed William Smith's team score, crossing the finish line in 18:44.7.  Abigail Cole (16th, 19:00.2) and Maura McNamara (17th, 19:00.7) seven runners in the top 20 of the 57-runner field.

The Red Dragons' Megan Francoeur was the individual winner, posting a time of 17:22.6. Sage's Mackenzie Feeney was the runner-up, stopping the clock at 17:34.4.

William Smith won the team title with a score of 45, Oneonta was second with 51 points. Sage (54), Utica (85) and Hudson Valley Community College (140) rounded out the team standings. SUNY Poly, SUNY Cobleskill and Mohawk Valley Community College also competed in the race, but did not have enough runners entered to post a team score.

The Herons will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 11, when they compete in the Hamilton Short Course Invitational.