Saint Mary's took part in the Manchester Invitational last week and finished in third place overall.
"The team was awesome at Manchester," head coach Jackie Bauters said. "It was the first race everyone ran a 6K and they did a great job - across the board. I think the team went out competitively and held on to it. It was an exciting race and I'm very proud of them."
Junior Megan McClowry once again led the Belles in their first 6K race of the season. McClowry finished 12th with a time of 24:23.
"The difference for me this season is due to summer training," McClowry said. "I was able to come in with a good base and then my teammates have helped push the pace at workouts this season."
Senior Caitlin Brodmerkel finished in 15th and was the next Belle across the finish line with a time of 24:28 only five seconds behind McClowry.
McClowry and Brodmerkel have both stepped up all season to lead the Belles after losing last season's top runner Megan Gray to graduation.
"So far my senior year has been all I could ask for and more," Brodmerkel said. "My goal for the team is to improve throughout the season, as we have been. I would love to finish fourth or better in the MIAA Conference again, which we did last year for the first time in our history. We definitely have the talent to do it again this year."
Catie Salyer, Joanne Almond, and Hannah Vicary each had top-30 finishes to round out the Belles who had scoring finishes in the race.
Salyer finished in 21st place with a time of 24:36, while Almond finished 25th with a time of 24:49, and Vicary rounded out the top five with a time of 25:03, good for 29th place.
Arianne Rodriguez finished just behind Vicary in 30th place with a time of 25:04.
Sophomore Clare McVey was the next runner across the finish line with a time of 25:09, good for 34th place in the race.
Senior Becca Mason finished 55th with a time of 25:49, and sophomore Kristy Kucharski finished 56th with a time of 25:50.
The Belles will next travel to Kalamazoo to compete in the MIAA Championships on Nov. 1.
