The No. 15 nationally ranked Bates women's cross country team had its top four runners place among the top six finishers out of 221 overall, and the Bobcats cruised past No. 16 RPI and 15 other teams Saturday in the Saratoga Invitational.
Senior captain Katherine Cook (South Burlington, Vt.), sophomore Olivia LaMarche (Lynnfield, Mass.), junior Ayden Eickhoff (Corvallis, Mont.) and first-year Abby Hamilton (Yarmouth, Maine) finished second, third, fifth and sixth, respectively -- all of them ahead of runner-up RPI's leading runner, who was ninth.
Hamilton is this week's Female Bobcat of the Week thanks to the immediate impact she's had on the program since arriving at Bates from Yarmouth High School. On Saturday, she covered the course in 17:55.8, just behind Eickhoff, who crossed the finish line in 17:54.2.
Bates will next race in the Maine State Championships, taking place at Bowdoin with a 3:30 start for the women's race.
