BUFFALO – The St. Bonaventure women's cross country team kicked off the 2026 season in winning style under perfect sunny skies Saturday morning by winning the Little Three Championship for just the second time in program history.

St. Bonaventure finished with 27 points, ahead of Niagara's 41 and Canisius at 64.

The top two spots in the 5K race went to Niagara's Natalie Seremetis and Mercedez Covey respectively, but the pack was dominated by the Bonnies.

St. Bonaventure runners captured the third through fifth finishing positions as juniors Madeline McKillop, Miranda Habshi and Madison McMahon set the tone for the Bonnies. McKillop ran the Delaware Park course layout in a time of 19:27.3, good for a new personal best. She barely beat her teammate to the line as Habshi clocked in at 19:27.7 in a photo finish between the Bona duo. McMahon was just behind at 19:34.9.

Bona's continued to dominate the top 10 as sophomore Sydney March (19:40.9) and freshman Siena Bammel (19:41.0) were neck-and-neck for seventh and eighth at the stripe while freshman Jahrie Houle also recorded a top-10 finish in her collegiate debut with a 10^th-place run of 19:48.1. Junior captain Naina Slaughter completed the team's top-seven in 11^th place overall at 19:55.3.

For the Bonnies women, it marks their first Little Three title since their first win as a program in the meet back in 2013.

Bona's 27 team points also represent the best-ever finish for the program at Little Three since the women's event was first held in 1983.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BOB MACFARLANE
"It was impressive how tightly our pack raced together. The spread from the first through fifth runner was only 14 seconds, while the entire top seven finished within just 28 seconds of one another. That type of pack running proved to be the difference. McKillop and Habshi set the tone at the front, but this was truly a complete team victory. From the five scoring runners all finishing inside the top eight to the displacement runners taking 10th and 11th, every place mattered.

"It was an outstanding example of championship cross country – seven runners competing together, fighting for every place and getting the job done as a team."

BONNIES RESULTS
3. Madeline McKillop – 19:27.3
4. Miranda Habshi – 19:27.7
5. Madison McMahon – 19:34.9
7. Sydney March – 19:40.9
8. Siena Bammel – 19:41.0
10. Jahrie Houle – 19:48.1
11. Naina Slaughter – 19:55.3
13. Sydney Dunn – 20:12.7
15. Estella Hyde – 20:13.1
16. Gianna Bille – 20:14.0
17. Anna Nikodem – 20:14.1
18. Sophia Bille – 20:26.7
20. Chloe Fisher – 20:32.4
23. Gabriella Randazzo – 20:40.9
24. Alex Jensen – 20:41.7
26. Charlotte Tower – 20:44.3
27. Brooke Hudnall – 20:56.2
28. Elise Brooks – 20:59.2
29. Jayne Gavin – 20:59.9

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure will next compete at the Colonial Invitational hosted by Robert Morris in Clinton, Pa. on Friday, Sept. 11.

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