MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Amherst College women's cross country team placed second at the Cardinal Invitational on Saturday at Long Lane Farm, finishing behind host Wesleyan in an eight-team field on the 6k course.

Wesleyan took the team title with 27 points, while Amherst finished with 49 and Coast Guard rounded out the top three with 59. The Mammoths put a strong front pack on the course but couldn't close the gap on a Cardinal squad that placed five runners in the top nine. The individual title went to Coast Guard sophomore Kevyn Fish, who won in 21:40.0. First-year

Sydney Remenar led Amherst with a third-place finish in 21:51.5, less than 12 seconds off the winner.

Senior Nikki Chopra was next for the Mammoths in sixth (22:05.5), and senior Kayla Werner took eighth in 22:11.1, giving Amherst three runners inside the top eight. First-year Eva Muzichenko came through as the fourth scorer, placing 13th in 22:28.9. Junior Ava Thomas was 27th (22:57.6), followed closely by junior Nora Hart in 28th (23:05.2).

Junior Taylor Gudebski (34th, 23:22.9), senior Emma Vatnsdal (37th, 23:29.7), first-year Maddie Braun (57th, 24:22.0) and first-year Grace Alexander (76th, 25:24.1) provided further depth for the Mammoths. Amherst will look to close the gap on its NESCAC rivals as the season continues. 

"I was very excited by the team's execution and racing maturity yesterday," Amherst head coach Hannah Chappell-Dick said. "They started out conservatively like we had talked about and worked their way up through the crowds together. This is a really encouraging step towards achieving our ultimate goal of being at our best in the post season. In 2 weeks, we'll add in our full squad to go head-to-head against interregional competition at Paul Short to try and solidify our chances at qualifying for nationals in November."