EMMANUEL HOSTS 9TH ANNUAL SAINTS INVITATIONAL

DORCHESTER, Mass. – Emmanuel College hosted the 9^th running of the Saints Invitational on the historic cross country course at Franklin Park on Friday evening. Over 360 runners represented 22 colleges and universities, with 17 women's teams competing in the 5k and 20 men's teams in the 8k event. Wheaton College took team honors on the women's side, placing four runners in the top ten and scoring 30 total points. Babson College won the men's race with the Beavers sealing up the four positions among the top 13 racers, as the team combined for 65 total points.

Babson College senior Marina Capalbo (Gainesville, Va.) repeated as the women's individual champion, topping her time from a year ago by 25 seconds with a 19:04 finish to pace the women's field of 157 runners. Wheaton's Jordan Silva (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Sonrisa O'Toole (Great Barrington, Mass.) came in second and third place with times of 19:18 and 19:23 while teammate Georgia Crane (Greenwich, Conn.) finished sixth at 19:50.

Rounding out the top five was Abby Shafer (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) of New England College with at fourth place finish in 19:25 followed by Erin Haynes (Oakham, Mass.) of Endicott in fifth with a time of 19:36.

Emmanuel College senior Martina Benassi (North Haven, Conn.) was the top finisher for the host Saints, placing 11^th overall with a time of 20:45 to power EC to a third place finish for the women with 121 points. Norwich University was not far behind in fourth place with 127 points followed be Endicott College with 128 points in fifth.

Following Benassi for the Saints was senior Chloe Egan (Burlington, Vt.) who placed 27^th overall with a 21:47 finish. The Emmanuel trio of freshman Haylee Krenzer (Haverhill, Mass.), Nicole Varca (Wethersfield, Conn.) and junior Julie Roberts (Williamsburg, Mass.) finished in 30^th, 31^st and 32^nd, respectively to round out the top five runners for the hosts.

On the men's side, Babson senior Mark Gulesian (Miami, Fla.) crossed the line in 27:00 even for the individual win. Wheaton College senior Harry Bachrach (Watertown, Mass.) ran well for a second place finish followed by Johnson & Wales University sophomore Adam Sachs (Elliot City, Md.) in third. Freshman Stephen Gencarelli (Westerly, R.I.) from Wentworth Institute of Technology was the top rookie finisher in fourth place while Fitchburg State freshman Jake Hastings (Phillipston, Mass.) rounded out the top five runners.

It was tight at the top as Babson squeaked past Wentworth by just a four point margin, scoring 65 and 69 points respectively. Wheaton posted third place honors with 86 points followed by Norwich University in fourth with 117 total points. Johnson & Wales University finished in fifth with 141 point in the race.

EC junior Sean Colford (Epping, N.H.) led the host Saints with a 20^th finish while senior Christopher Connelly (Quincy, Mass.) finished 42^nd overall. Not far behind was junior Max Bukowiec (York, Me.) in 45^th place. Junior Corey Hebert (Acushnet, Mass.) was the fourth EC finisher in 60^th place overall while sophomore Nicholas Rosenau (Fairfield, Conn.) rounded out the top five.

The Emmanuel Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams will return to competition on Saturday, November 1^st, when the Saints travel back to Standish, Maine to compete in the GNAC Cross Country Championships, hosted by Saint Joseph's College. The women's championship will begin at 1:00 PM and the men will race at 2:00 PM as both squads will try to repeat as GNAC Champions.