WESTON, Mass. — The Brandeis University women's cross country team, ranked #28 in the USTFCCCA Division III National preseason poll, started their campaign with a 21-34 victory over their traditional season-opening rival, the University of Southern Maine, at Weston High School.

The Judges were led by their top two returning runners from a year ago. Junior Kelsey Whitaker (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Acad.) and sophomore Maddie Dolins (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) were the top finishers on the four-kilometer course. Both crossed the line in 16:51. Southern Maine had the next two finishers in junior Hannah Damron (Windham, Maine/Windham) and junior Catie Keenan (York Harbor, Maine/York). Damron ran 17:03, while Keenan was five seconds behind.

      Three more Brandeis runner rounded out the scoring for the Judges. Sophomore Lydia McCaleb (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) placed fifth in 17:14. Sophomore Ashley Piccirillo-Horan (North Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) and rookie Kyra Shreeve (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) each ran 17:22 to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.

      Brandeis returns to action in just under a month, on Sept. 20, at the UMass Dartmouth Shriners Invitational.