COLFORD, SAINTS ROLL AT RUNNIN’ MONKS INVITE

STANDISH, Maine – Junior Sean Colford (Epping, N.H.) took individual honors and led the Emmanuel Men's Cross Country Team to a share of the team championship in the 12th Annual Runnin' Monks Invitational on Saturday morning.  Saint Joseph's College, Emmanuel College and University of New England finished in a three-way tie for first place with 67 points apiece.   The Saints took second place in the women's race with 47 points and all five scorers running in the top 15 positions.

The three-way tie in the men's race was declared after consulting with the NCAA rulebook, which does not offer a solution for such occurrences. According to Section 6: Article 3: "Ties in team scoring shall be broken by comparing the place finish of the five scoring members of the tied teams. The team with the majority of winning places shall be awarded the higher place."

Colford was the top individual finisher with a 28:23 effort, 17 seconds ahead of runner-up Robbie Hollis (Auburn, Maine), a freshman from Maine-Farmington. Saint Joseph's sophomore Nick Shuckrow (Winslow, Maine) placed third with a 28:45 effort, while Maine-Farmington sophomore Austin Gatcomb (Wrentham, Mass.) was fourth and Johnson State junior Brendan Walsh (Killingworth, Conn.) rounded out the top five with a 29:09 performance.

For Colford, the win on the Saint Joseph's course is his third in as many tries, as the third-year standout won the Runnin' Monks event last season with a 28:05 time and collected top honors at the 2013 GNAC Championship with a 27:49 race.

Overall, Maine-Farmington was fourth (82 points), Thomas College finished fifth (111), Johnson State was sixth (136), Emerson College placed seventh (153) and Nichols College was eighth (187). Maine Machias also competed in the men's race but did not score.

For Emmanuel, senior captain Christopher Connelly (Quincy, Mass.) finished 7th overall and 2nd for the Saints with his time of 29:22.  Junior Max Bukowiec (York, Maine) ran 3rd for the Saints and 14th overall, finishing in 30:27.  Junior Corey Hebert (Acushnet, Mass.) and senior Adam Julien (New Orleans, La.) rounded out the top five for the Saints, crossing the line in 30:59 and 31:47, respectively.

On the women's side, University of New England cruised to victory with 37 team points.  Saint Joseph's seniors Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine) and Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) finished first (20:52) and second (20:58), respectively, while Emmanuel College senior Martina Benassi (North Haven, Conn.) placed third (21:24), UNE freshman Lindsay Maffei (Windham, N.H.) was fourth (21:25) and Emmanuel senior Chloe Egan (Burlington, Vt.) ran to a fifth-place finish (21:43) in the 5K race.

Emmanuel finished as the runner-up with 47 points while Maine-Farmington placed third with 89 points and Saint Josephs' was fourth with 92. Emerson College (109 points), Johnson State (188), Nichols College (206) and Thomas College (226) placed fifth through eighth while Maine Machias featured runners in the race but did not score.

Following Benassi and Egan for the Saints, a pack of EC runners crossed the line in the 12th-16th positions.  Finishing 3rd for the Saints was freshman Haylee Krenzer (Haverhill, Mass.) with her time of 22:30.  Junior captain Julie Roberts (Williamsburg, Mass.) followed Krenzer in 22:37.  Freshman Nicole Varca (Wethersfield, Conn.) scored 5th for EC in 22:41, while juniors Chloe Pangonis (Keene, N.H.) and Janelle Winship (Prospect, Maine) finished in the 15th and 16th positions, respectively.

Emmanuel will host the 9th Annual Saints Invitational this Friday evening at Franklin Park.  The women's 5k race is slated to begin at 4:00 PM with the men's 8k race starting at 4:45 PM.

- Courtesy of Saint Joseph's College Sports Information