WINTHROP, Mass. - A fourth-place finish against a field loaded with Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) competition has earned Norwich University women's cross country freshman Ava Dillon (Erie, Colo.) GNAC Rookie of the Week honors for the first time in her collegiate career, as announced by the league office on Monday.
Dillon turned in the top freshman performance in the 53-runner field at Sunday's Colby-Sawyer Maslan Cross Country Invitational & GNAC Preview, crossing fourth overall in 25:49.7 on the six-kilometer Morris Trail course.
The rookie led Norwich for the third consecutive meet while helping the Cadets place fourth among eight scoring teams with 93 points, finishing just one point behind host Colby-Sawyer College for third.
Dillon was among the race leaders from the opening stages, reaching the first 2.8-kilometer checkpoint in third place at 11:13.7. She remained firmly inside the lead pack throughout the race, passing 4.9 kilometers in 20:35.1 before securing the first top-five finish of her collegiate career.
Her fourth-place result also made her the highest-finishing first-year runner in the field and marked her second consecutive top-20 performance at the six-kilometer distance.
The meet offered Norwich an early look at the same Morris Trail course that will host the 2026 GNAC Championships on Sunday, Nov. 1. Dillon finished behind only Colby-Sawyer sophomore Jacklyn Anderson and two Emmanuel College seniors in a field featuring competitors from eight scoring GNAC programs.
Dillon becomes Norwich's first GNAC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Week selection since Kaitlyn Moore earned the honor twice during the 2025 campaign, receiving recognition on Sept. 8 and Oct. 20.
Her performance helped highlight a strong freshman presence throughout Norwich's scoring lineup, as Anna Barlow (Kingston, N.H.) finished 15th overall in 27:39.8 and Isabella Rafter (Glastonbury, Conn.) placed 22nd in 28:46.6.
Norwich will face a quick turnaround before returning to competition on Friday, Oct. 9, at the Hopkinton Cross Country Festival, hosted by fellow GNAC member New England College. The women's race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
