CROSS COUNTRY CAPS SEASON AT NCAA DIII NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Emmanuel College cross country squads wrapped up the 2016 campaign competing at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship this Saturday afternoon at Stanley Park. The men’s team finished 31st overall while the women’s team placed 38th.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Emmanuel College cross country squads wrapped up the 2016 campaign competing at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship this Saturday afternoon at Stanley Park. The men's team finished 31st overall while the women's team placed 38th.
Tufts University senior Tim Nichols held off MIT's Matt Deyo and teammate Luke O'Connor to win the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country New England Regional championship in a course-record time over the 8-kilometer course at Stanley Park.
Nichols crossed the line in 23:54.58, 26 seconds ahead of Dayo. Nichols' time sets a course standard for both the NCAA Regional at Stanley Park, which hosted the event on four occasions, breaking the mark of 24:21 .0 set by Trinity's Ryan Bak in 2002. It also sets a collegiate standard for the course, which was formerly held by Mike Biwott of NCAA Division II American International College at the 2012 NEICCA Championships.
Deyo held O'Connor at bay for the second spot in 24:28.38, while MIT's Dennis Maloney placed fourth in 24:33.52. Defending regional champ Mohamed Hussein of Amherst finished fifth in 24:43.83.
MIT and Williams tied for low score with team totals of 110, but the meet referee applied the tie breaker to declare MIT the regional champion with MIT's top three runners finishing ahead of their counterparts from Williams to win the tie-break 3-2. Both teams will automatically advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship next Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
Amherst finished third with 141 points, followed by Middlebury (153), Tufts (159) and Colby 167).
The top 35 runners earn All-Region honors from the USTFCCA. Overall 384 runners and 56 teams competed at the championship meet.
On the women's side, Tufts University junior Brittany Bowman made a winning move in the final 300 meters to win the 2016 the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country New England Regional championship in a course-record time over the 6-kilometer course at Stanley Park.
Bowman stopped the clock in 21:14.29, two seconds ahead of runner up Megan McCandless from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Amherst College freshman Katherine Treanor was third in 21:22.37, with junior Jessie Cardin of host institution Westfield State fourth in 21:25.16.
MIT placed all five of its scoring runners in the top 25 to win the meet with 68 points, followed by Williams with 71, Tufts with 77, Middlebury with 149 and Bates with 167.
MIT and Williams win automatic bids to the NCAA Championships next weekend in Louisville, Ky.
For the Saints, the freshman duo of Erik Brobst (Freeport, Maine) and Patrick Carty (Sweden, Maine) powered the way finishing the 8k course in 27:01 and 27:05 to lead the Emmanuel men. Senior captain Ian Chamenko (Beacons Falls, Conn.) wasn't far behind with a time of 27:27 in his final collegiate race. Freshman Phillip Malm (Worcester, Mass.) was the next Emmanuel finisher with a time of 29:37 followed by sophomore Jefferson Zannoni (Merrimack, N.H.) at 30:38.
Junior Nicole Varca (Wethersfield, Conn.) paced the women's team with a time of 24:18. Sophomore Mimi Duncan(Portsmouth, N.H.) was next to finish for the Saints crossing the finish line in 25:43 followed by sophomore Reilly Boyle (Wells, Maine) and newcomers Jordyn Gonsor (Springfield, Mass.) who both clocked in a time of 25:51. Freshman Allie Gorrill (Whitefield, Maine) rounded out the EC top five with a time of 26:24.
The Saints lose Chamenko and seniors Elisa Cantito (Middlebury, Conn.) and Maria Rago (Winthrop, Mass.) but will look to build off a solid 2016 campaign next year with almost the entire roster returning from both sides.
*Some content provided courtesy of Westfield State University Sports Information Dept.