GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's cross country team will be competing at the 2026 Little East Conference Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday, October 31 at the Spartan Athletic Complex on the campus of Vermont State University Castleton. The women's 6k race will start at 11:00 am. 
 
Southern Maine placed fourth at last year's championship meet. The team returns its top runner from last year's meet, senior Gwen Catalano (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle), who earned First Team All-LEC honors last season and Second Team All-LEC honors in 2024. Catalano finished fifth last season and eighth the year prior. Catalano made her season debut on October 17 by placing 46th in the 6k at the Connecticut College Invitational with a time of 23:42.5. Her personal-best 6k time of 22:56.0 was set last season at the NCAA Division III East Region Cross Country Championship where she placed 42nd.
 
In addition to Catalano, the Huskies have a strong pair of rookies that are leading the way in sophomore Lana DiRusso (Freeport, Maine) and freshman Ava Collamore (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley). DiRusso, who also is a member of the Huskies' women's lacrosse program, is in her first season running cross country and has made an immediate impact. She has been the team's top finisher for the Huskies twice this season, including at the Connecticut College Invitational, the team's most recent meet in which she ran a personal-best time of personal-best time of 23:05.1. Her performance earned her the LEC Rookie of the Week award. Collamore, a two-time LEC Rookie of the Week herself, has been the top runner for the Huskies at two meets this year. Collamore's top 6k time this season of 23:30.3 came at the Maine State Championship.
 
Other key runners for Southern Maine include junior Cora Casad (Lisbon Falls, Maine/Mt. Ararat), freshman Ryley Hubert (Griswold, Conn.) and senior Julia Szewc (Hermon, Maine. Casad is another rookie who is having an impressive first season for the Huskies. Like DiRusso, Casad also ran a personal-best time at the Huskies' last meet, clocking in at 23:58.9. Hubert has a personal-best time of 24:05.0 at the Connecticut College Invitational and has been among the top-five runners for the Huskies at every meet this season. Szewc placed 26th at last year's conference championship with a time of 24:53.5 and holds a personal-best time of 24:11.3.
 
The Huskies have won the conference title six times, starting with the inaugural LEC Championship in 1988. Southern Maine also won titles in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997 and 1999. The Huskies have had 10 individual conference champions with Molly Carl being the most recent in 2012.