BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Vermont women's cross country team has selected its captains for the 2021 season. Seniors Meaghan Alba, Jane Leighton, and Bel Sogoloff will lead the Catamounts who return to fall competition after a COVID-altered season last February.
 
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2021 Roster | 2021 Schedule
 
"These three women have seen us through some tough times and have clearly earned the trust and confidence of their teammates," said head coach Matt Belfield. "I have great respect for them and look forward to the season."
 
Alba enters her third season with the UVM cross country program. The Philomath, Oregon native posted a personal-best 5K time of 17:42.0 in the 2019 America East Championship for a 14th-place finish and All-Conference Second Team honors.
 
Leighton owns a career-best 5K time of 18:35.4, which was set at Hard'Ack Recreation Area in 2019. The Amherst, New Hampshire native scored for the Catamounts at the America East Championships in 2019. As a sophomore, Leighton registered the fifth-best time (21:18.9) for Vermont at the NCAA Northeast Regional.
 
Sogoloff burst on to the conference cross country scene in 2019 when she was named America East Most Outstanding Rookie. A native of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Sogoloff raced to a seventh-place finish (17:30.8) at the 2019 America East Championship to earn All-Conference First Team honors.
 
Vermont women's cross country opens the 2021 season on Saturday (Sep. 4) at Hard'Ack Recreation Area in St. Albans. The Catamounts host UMass Lowell, Northeastern, and UMass. The women's 5K race is slated to start at 12 p.m.