William Smith first-year Vienna Ritter-Yelle was named the Liberty League Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Week by the conference office today. She earned her second collegiate victory on Saturday, winning the inaugural Warner-Fleury Invitational.
 
Ritter-Yelle covered the soggy, 6-kilometer course at Seneca Lake State Park in a time of 24:33.6, 5.9 seconds ahead of the runner-up, classmate Evie Morris. Ritter-Yelle earned her first collegiate victory in the SUNY Poly Wildcat Invitational on Sept. 26.
 
With five runners in the race's top 10, the Herons won the team title by 26 points over second-place SUNY ESF.
 
It's the first time a Heron first-year has won at home since 2014, when Sophie MacCracken '18 prevailed in the Cross Country Only Conference Championship. It's also the fifth straight year that a Heron has won the team's annual home race and the fifth straight year that William Smith has claimed the team title.
 
The Herons will return to action Oct. 31, when they compete in the Liberty League Championships in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.