The 2023 Women’s Cross Country All-SCIAC Teams have been released following Saturday’s SCIAC Championship. First Team All-SCIAC honors are determined by the top 10 finishers at the conference meet, while the Second Team consists of finishers 11-20. The Newcomer, Ray Adkinson and Coaching Staff of the Year accolades are voted on by the league’s member head coaches in consultation with their teams.
Natalie Bitetti of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges repeated Athlete of the Year with a second consecutive individual title as the Athenas claimed their 13th straight team championship. Leading from start to finish, she was the only runner to break 22 minutes, and by a wide margin at 21:33.9 to win by over 27 seconds in a 1-2-3 finish with teammates Elle Marsyla and Riley Capuano.
Teammate Revere Schmidt became the Athenas’ fourth consecutive Newcomer of the Year, following in the footsteps of Bitetti in 2021 and Marsyla last season. Schmidt narrowly beat out Chapman University’s Brenda Daza by 1.3 seconds for 12th place in the championship race.
Laura Zimmer was another Athena to be recognized with the Celia Peterson Award, named for the sport’s inaugural conference champion from Caltech in 1977. A double major in economics and psychology at Claremont McKenna College, Zimmer was a two-time Second Team All-Conference selection before placing sixth at this year’s championship. She has served as Co-President of Claremont Women in Business for the past two years, Vice President of the CMS SAAC and a notetaker for economics, psychological statistics and macroeconomics while also working as the student director of tour guides, a social media intern for the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement and a fellow at 5C Product Space. Zimmer is also an All-Region honoree and moved up to 12th place on the all-time CMS 6k list in addition to placing 18th to help the team secure the title at the NCAA DIII Pre-Nationals Meet. Described by her coach as “the heart and soul of the women’s team,” she has the clear respect of her teammates as their emotional and organizational leader devoted to the care and support of everyone. Graceful in her acceptance of results in competition, she also demonstrates high moral character in all aspects of her life.
The CMS coaches, led by Marina Muncan, were recognized as the Coaching Staff of the Year for a third straight season and seventh dating back to 2016. Having begun the season ranked 12th in the national USTFCCCA poll, the Athenas have rocketed up to No. 2 before securing their 13th consecutive conference title and will be eyeing a strong performance at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 11 on the same Riverside City Cross Country Course.
CMS led all teams with six First Team and eight overall All-Conference qualifiers as Angela Gushue and Sara Wexler joined their teammates among the top 10. The Athenas were followed by the Caltech trio of Gigi Pistilli, Sophie Dalfonzo and Katy Chu on Second Team. Chapman, Occidental College, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and the University of Redlands each landed two among the top 20, with one apiece on the First Team - Jenna LeNay (Oxy), Annika Carlson (Chapman), Chloe Bullock (Redlands) and Mira Terdiman (Pomona-Pitzer). The University of La Verne’s Marissa Hehir rounded out the All-Conference squads.
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Athlete
of the Year
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Newcomer
of the Year
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Celia Peterson
Award
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Coaching
Staff of the Year
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Natalie Bitetti
CMS
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Revere Schmidt
CMS
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Laura Zimmer
CMS
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Marina Muncan
CMS
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| First Team All-SCIAC |
| Name |
Institution |
Year |
Hometown |
| Natalie Bitetti |
CMS |
Sr. |
La Crescenta, Calif. |
| Elle Marsyla |
CMS |
So. |
Woodside, Calif. |
| Riley Capuano |
CMS |
So. |
Los Altos, Calif. |
| Jenna LeNay |
Occidental |
So. |
Nipomo, Calif. |
| Annika Carlson |
Chapman |
Jr. |
Tiburon, Calif. |
| Laura Zimmer |
CMS |
Sr. |
Billings, Mont. |
| Angela Gushue |
CMS |
Jr. |
Upland, Calif. |
| Sara Wexler |
CMS |
So. |
Denver, Colo. |
| Chloe Bullock |
Redlands |
Sr. |
Hood River, Ore. |
| Mira Terdiman |
Pomona-Pitzer |
Jr. |
San Francisco, Calif. |
| Second Team All-SCIAC |
| Name |
Institution |
Year |
Hometown |
| Eve Mavy |
Redlands |
So. |
Thayne, Wyo |
| Revere Schmidt |
CMS |
Fy. |
Carlsbad, Calif. |
| Brenda Daza |
Chapman |
Fy. |
Cypress, Calif. |
| Ciara Gillen |
Occidental |
Sr. |
West Newton, Mass. |
| Hannah Weaver |
CMS |
Sr. |
Seattle, Wash. |
| Gigi Pistilli |
Caltech |
So. |
Portola Valley, Calif. |
| Marissa Hehir |
La Verne |
Fy. |
La Verne, Calif. |
| Sophie Dalfonzo |
Caltech |
Jr. |
Fair Haven, N.J. |
| Katie Cline |
Pomona-Pitzer |
Jr. |
Austin, Texas |
| Katy Chu |
Caltech |
Sr. |
Los Gatos, Calif. |
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