BETHPAGE, N.Y. — The Cornell women's cross country team opened its season with a strong team performance Saturday, using patience, pack running and strong finishes to capture the team title at the Adelphi Panthers XC Invite.

Competing on the course that will host the NCAA Northeast Regional later this fall, the Big Red won the 6-kilometer race with 33 points. Cornell placed five runners in the top 12, led by Maisie McManus, who won the race and established a new course record.

"Maisie was tucked in to the lead pack and as the race started to unfold in the last k she covered moves and closed nicely to get the win and establish a new course record," head coach Mike Henderson said.

Sophia Juanes-Seto and Fiona Lee worked together for much of the race, helping one another navigate the middle portion before moving away from the chase pack and toward the leaders. Juanes Seto finished fifth in 22:00.9, while Lee was sixth in 22:05.4.

Ava Pennachio delivered a strong debut in her first collegiate 6K, finishing ninth in 22:19.7. Lucia Werner rounded out Cornell's scoring five with a 12th-place finish in 22:42.0.

Kate Ahmari finished 16th in 23:14.9, just missing a top-15 finish, while Henny Schminke placed 27th in 23:40.6.

"The Big Red had a big group that kept connected and moved up throughout the race," Henderson said. "Ava had the best close from that group to finish top 10 in the first 6k of her collegiate career, and Lucia Werner closed out our scoring five with her 12th-place finish. Kate Ahmari had the strongest XC race of her career and just missed out on finishing top 15 in the race."

Cornell Results:

• 1st — Maisie McManus: 21:28.9 — 1 team point

• 5th — Sophia Juanes Seto: 22:00.9 — 5 team points

• 6th — Fiona Lee: 22:05.4 — 6 team points

• 9th — Ava Pennachio: 22:19.7 — 9 team points

• 12th — Lucia Werner: 22:42.0 — 12 team points

• 16th — Kate Ahmari: 23:14.9 — non-scoring

• 27th — Henny Schminke: 23:40.6 — non-scoring

Team score: Cornell 33 points

The result reflected a deliberate race plan built around controlled starts and building momentum throughout the race.

"Both teams did a great job of executing on the day," Henderson said. "They all started controlled and in small groups and built momentum throughout the race."

That approach was especially important on a warm and muggy day, with Cornell balancing an aggressive team performance with the need to avoid overextending itself this early in the season.

"Both teams executed really well in terms of finding each other and supporting each other through the race, but also with managing the heat and humidity and not over extending themselves early in the season," Henderson said.

Saturday also gave the Big Red an early look at the course it will return to later this fall for the NCAA Northeast Regional.

"We were excited to get the season started and get a preview of the NCAA NE Regional course we will race on later in the year," Henderson said.

For Henderson, the victory provided both an encouraging start and valuable information heading into the remainder of the season.

"It is always nice to see the hard work they put in over the summer pay off, and it is nice to not only walk away with wins, but having a lot more information on where we are at this time of year and what we have to keep working on to become our best selves the next time we are back at this course," Henderson said.

UP NEXT 

The Big Red returns to action next weekend for its home meet at Moakley Course, against Ithaca College and Cortland, beginning at 6 p.m. EST.

"It was a fun start to the season and we look forward to keeping that going with our home meet next weekend," Henderson said.