COLONIE, N.Y. -- Freshman Ashley Nichols (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor HS) and senior Lauren Lesniak (Dracut, Mass./Dracut HS) finished second and third, respectively, to lead the Bentley University women's cross country team to the championship of the fifth annual Saint Rose Golden Knights Joust Friday afternoon at the Crossings of Colonie.

Bentley, with five of the top 12 finishers, easily out-ran the eight-team field. The Falcons had a score of 29 points, and Southern New Hampshire University was a distance second with 85. Le Moyne College followed in third with 91.

Nichols posted a three-mile time of 18:56, besting Lesniak by four seconds. Emma Lundberg of Southern New Hampshire was the individual champion, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Nichols.

The remainder of the top five for Bentley were sophomore Amy Varsell (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills HS), junior Evelyn Marrero (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam HS) and freshman Leah Schiller (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe HS). Varsell was fifth (1901), Marrero seventh (19:08) in her return to upstate New York, and Schiller was 12th in 19:40.

Bentley's next competition is the Northeast-10 Conference Championships Nov. 7 at Stonehill College.

SAINT ROSE GOLDEN KNIGHTS JOUST

At Colonie, N.Y.

Women's Team Standings: 1. Bentley 29, 2. Southern New Hampshire 85, 3. Le Moyne 91, 4. St. Thomas Aquinas 103, 5. Saint Rose 107, 6. Pace 144, 7. SUNY Cobleskill 145, 8. Franklin Pierce 221.

Women's Top Finishers: 1. Emma Lundberg, SNHU, 18:42; 2. Ashley Nichols, Bentley, 18:56; 3. Lauren Lesniak, Bentley, 19:00; 4. Sarah Callagy, St. Thomas Aquinas, 19:00; 5. Amy Varsell, Bentley, 19:01.

Other Bentley Runners: 7. Evelyn Marrero, 19:08; 12. Leah Schiller, 19:40; 17. Brittany Roderman, 20:26; 36. Heather Hallstrom, 22:18.