CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAMS WRAP SEASON AT NCAA REGIONAL MEET

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Women's and Men's Cross Country Teams competed in their final meets of the 2014 season, taking on New England's top competition in the NCAA Division III Regional Championship, hosted by Williams College at Mount Greylock Regional High School on Saturday afternoon.  The competitors battled it out on the hilly course under sunny skies and a high temperature of 35 degrees.

MIT was victorious in the women's 6k championship, scoring a combined 40 team points.  Middlebury took second place with 65 points. Both MIT and Middlebury have, thus, automatically qualified for the NCAA championships, which will be held on November 22nd in Mason, Ohio.

Emmanuel College combined for 1,148 points to finish in 39th place out of the 57 competing women's programs.  Senior Martina Benassi (North Haven, Conn.) led the way for the Saints, finishing in 164th out of the field of 387 runners.  Benassi toured the 6k course in 25:14, with splits of 6:47/mile.  Senior Chloe Egan (Burlington, Vt.) finished 2nd for the Saints in 26:02, while junior Janelle Winship (Prospect, Maine) placed 3rd for EC in 26:32.  Junior Chloe Pangonis (Keene, N.H.) and freshman Haylee Krenzer (Haverhill, Mass.) ran 4th and 5th, respectively, for the Saints with times of 26:41 and 26:59.

On the men's side, placing five runners in the top 21 places, Colby College won the Regional title with a score of 63 points.  Amherst College finished in 2nd with 69 points.  With their performances, these two teams have automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship.

Emmanuel College's men finished 45th out of the 54 teams, as the Saints combined for 1,320 total points.  EC's top finisher was junior captain Sean Colford (Epping, N.H.), who placed 167th among his 373 competitors.  Colford ran the 8k course in 28:24 at a pace of 5:43 per mile.  Finishing second for the Saints was senior captain Christopher Connelly (Quincy, Mass.) in a time of 29:47.  Juniors Corey Hebert (Asushnet, Mass.) and Max Bukowiec (York, Maine) scored 3rd and 4th for Emmanuel, crossing the line together at 30:36.  Senior Adam Julien (New Orleans, La.) rounded out the top five for Emmanuel with his time of 31:23.

View the Video Highlights from the Women's NCAA Regional Championship.

View the Video Highlights from the Men's NCAA Regional Championship.