The No. 10 nationally ranked Bates women's cross country team became the first Division III squad to win five straight Maine State Meets in a dominating first-place finish on their home course Saturday at Pineland Farms.
Junior Jillian Richardson (Auburn, Maine) took first place individually and was followed to the finish line by a host of teammates.
Richardson covered the 5-kilometer course in 18:39, first out of 120 runners, to become Bates' first individual state champion since Katherine Cook in 2017.
She was joined on the All-State team, comprising the top seven individuals, by senior Tara Ellard (Brewster, Mass.) in fourth place (19:01), junior Jordan Wilson (Medfield, Mass.) in sixth (19:10.8) and first-year Olivia Reynolds (Cumberland, Maine) in seventh (19:14.1). It is the second all-state honor for both Richardson and Ellard.
