2012 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IN REVIEW

The Emmanuel College Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams celebrated yet another successful season in 2012.  The Emmanuel men's squad raced to a second place team finish at the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship, while the women's team took fourth place as a team.  After his 12^th season at the helm, Head Coach Tony DaRocha was once again named the GNAC Cross Country Coach of the Year, an honor he has now received five times while coaching the Saints.

During the 2012 campaign, Emmanuel competed in seven different meets, including the GNAC Championship at Rivier University and the NCAA Division III Regional meet, hosted by Westfield State University.  The Saints opened the season with both the men's and women's teams finishing second out of six teams at their 4^th Annual Fens Classic.   The men and women went on to take fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Roger Williams University Invitational the following weekend.

UMass Dartmouth's 40^th Annual Shriners' Invitational and Gordon College's Pop Crowell Invitational closed out the month of September for the Saints. Emmanuel competed in the USA Track & Field New Englands on October 14^th, before heading to the GNAC Championship meet on October 27^th.

Junior Pat Callan (Pawling, N.Y.) paced the Emmanuel men for the first four meets of the season.  Callan set a new program record in the 5k with his time of 16:41 at the Fens Classic.  Fellow juniors Chris Baker (Holden, Mass.) and Nate Bruno (Lenox, Mass.) were consistent top five finishers throughout the season.  Bruno took 9^th place with his time of 27:30 in the GNAC Championship to earn All-Conference honors for the Saints.

Rookie Thomas Tallo (Lincoln, R.I.) and Max Bukowiec (York, Me.) led a strong freshman class for the Saints.  Tallo was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week on September 10, 2012, after finishing in the top seven for the Saints in the first two meets of the season.  Bukowiec earned GNAC Rookie of the Week on October 1, 2012, following his personal best performance of 29:33 in the 8k distance at the Pop Crowell Invitational.

Senior captain Joslyn DelSignore (Taunton, Mass.) led the Emmanuel women throughout the 2012 season.  DelSignore consistently finished first for the Saints and ran her 5k PR time of 20:11 at the 40^th Annual Shriners' Invitational.  Junior Molly Metivier (Keene, N.H.) ran among the top three throughout the season and led the Saints at the USATF race in Brookline in mid-October.

Julie Roberts (Williamsburg, Mass.) boasted a solid freshman season.  Roberts scored among Emmanuel's top five in six of their seven meets.  Also recording a stellar freshman season was Janelle Winship (Prospect, Me.), who ran her PR of 20:42 at UMass Dartmouth on 9/15/12.

Juniors Amy DeNuzzio (Windham, N.H.) and Danielle Martin (York, Me.) ran among Emmanuel's top five throughout the year.  DeNuzzio led the way for the Saints at the GNAC Championship with a time of 21:18.  Martin notched a pair of 21:18 finishes at the Pop Crowell Invite and the USATF race.  The USATF meet was also standout one for sophomore Chloe Egan (Burlington, Vt.), who ran a 20:52 race on the 2.8 mile course.

DelSignore and men's team captain Abdi Ibrahim (East Boston, Mass.) represented the Saints on the GNAC Cross Country All-Sportsmanship Teams.  Following the 2012 season, the Emmanuel women's team received recognition for their cumulative team grade point average by being named an Academic All-American Team by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Emmanuel men's squad will lose Ibrahim, Alen Smajic (Revere, Mass.) and Greg St. Denis (Auburn, Me.) to graduation in May, while the women will lose DelSignore, Lauren Gogel (East Longmeadow, Mass.), Meaghan Reddy (Warwick, R.I.) and Lorraine Rubio (Frederick, Md.).

DaRocha, along with Assistant Coaches Alice Kramer and Bryan Mahoney expect to return 19 men and 15 women as veterans for the 2013 season.  In addition to the GNAC Championship, the season will be highlighted by Emmanuel's hosting of the 7^th Annual Saints Invitational at Franklin Park on October 18, 2013.