Bates College

Junior Elena Jay paced Bates with a fourth-place overall finish to help lead No. 19 women’s cross country to its second consecutive Maine State Championship on Saturday and to earn Bobcat of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 14-20.

The West Hartford, Conn., native covered the 5-kilometer course in Waterville, Maine in 19:19.80 and garnered All-State accolades for finishing in the top seven. She led the Bobcats to back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history with 32 points as a team and aided the squad in beating second-place No. 30 Colby (52 points) and third-place Bowdoin (76 points).

Two other Bobcats also captured All-State laurels as senior Kallie Nixon (Medfield, Mass) and classmate Gabrielle Naranja (Fort Kent, Maine) finished in fifth (19:31.60) and sixth (19:38.30) respectively. Bates placed three runners on the All-State team for the first time since 1983, when Nancy Bell, Ann Benoit, Kathy Kraemer, and Karen Palermo achieved the distinction.

Next, Bates competes at the NESCAC Championships on Nov. 2 at Harkness State Park in Waterford, Conn.