Avery Blanchard was two and a half seconds away from a top-five finish at her home meet on Saturday, as the St. Lawrence University women's cross country placed second in the team standings at the 34th Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational on Saturday on the Hoffmann Cross Country Course.

"We took great advantage of the privilege of competing at home on the Hoff today," said Saints head coach Kate Howard. "The course was in terrific shape and the conditions couldn't have been any better for our first 6K of the season.  We're already seeing great progress since we arrived on campus a few weeks ago and the excitement is building as we turn our attention to 6K's for the rest of the season." 

The Saints opened the day with their six-kilometer race, and Blanchard's finish led St. Lawrence. She placed sixth overall in 23:08.2. Madison Beaudoin was ninth in 23:32.5 to crack the top 10.0, Carly Zack placed 12th in 23:49.1 and Quinn Sirgany followed in 14th in 23:57.9. Janie Urban was the fifth Saint to finish, placing 21st with a time of 24:27.1 in the first-year's first appearance on the Hoff.

Isobel Koger also raced her home race for the first time, competing in her first collegiate 6k and crossing the line the line 22nd in 24:36.3, Ellie Riley took 23rd with a time of 24:42.1 and another first-year, Fiona Tobin, placed 24th in 24:56.4

Eleanor Waite finished 26th with a time of 25:24.2, Caroline Hennessy was 29th in 25:43.1, Paige Poirier placed 30th in 25:51.6 and Mia Astrauskas took 32nd in 26:01.9.

Queen's (Canada) won the team title in the event, and also had the individual champion as Olivia Baggley beat the field by just over 27 seconds.

St. Lawrence now heads out to Troy, N.Y. for the RPI Fairgrounds Showdown on Saturday, September 26 for their next competition.