For the first time in 35 years, the Pomona-Pitzer women's cross country team has won the SCIAC Championship, which was hosted on Friday, October 30, at the Strehle Track in Claremont, Calif. 

Each of the Sagehens' top-seven runners finished inside of the top-10 of the individual standings for a team score of 22. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who was previously on a 16-year streak of winning the conference title, came in second with a score of 39.

Occidental (114) claimed third place and was followed by California Lutheran (131) in fourth, Redlands (134) in fifth, Caltech (156) in sixth, Chapman (184) in seventh, La Verne (208) in eighth, and Whittier in ninth.

Olivia Backholm of the Athenas was the top individual finisher with a time of 21:48.6, which was seven seconds in front of the runner-up Megan Walter from Pomona-Pitzer. Overall, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps claimed 10 All-SCIAC spots, while the Sagehens earned nine spots. Victoria Vahi of the Tigers placed 18th with a time of 22:36.9.

All SCIAC institutions will next compete at the NCAA Division III West Regionals, hosted in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, November 14.