GENEVA, N.Y. – Junior Cat Dacey became the first runner in program history to earn All-Conference first-team honors to lead the Union College women's cross country team to a sixth-place finish at the 2023 Liberty League Championships, held on Saturday afternoon at Seneca Lake State Park.
 
As a team, Union placed sixth out of nine teams with a team score of 159, easily finishing ahead of William Smith College in seventh place. The result is Union's highest finish at the conference championships since taking sixth in 2015 and its best result ever in a nine-team field.
 
The story of the day for Union was Dacey, who placed fifth to earn the first All-Conference first-team honor in Union cross country history (men or women). The junior ran the 6K course in 22:27.8, finishing ahead of 94 runners in the 100-runner field.
 
Senior Allison Malatesta was the next Garnet Charger to cross the finish line for Union, taking 36th place individually with a time of 24:04.3. She was joined in the top 50 by junior Caroline Kelly, finished the course in 24:28.5 to place 44th overall. Senior Alayna Gibson and first-year Annabel Dobash rounded out the Union scorers, finishing in 53rd and 54th place, respectively; Gibson posted a career-best time of 24:47.4 and Dobash came in a few seconds later in 24:50.8.
 
Union will take next week off from competition as the team gears up for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, which take place at Westfield State University's Stanley Park on November 11.
 
Complete Union Results:
Cat Dacey – 22:27.8
Allison Malatesta – 24:04.3
Caroline Kelly – 24:28.5
Alayna Gibson – 24:47.4
Annabel Dobash – 24:50.8
Amelia Wagner – 26:04.1
Ella McCarthy – 27:23.0