CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS OPEN SEASON WITH LOCAL DUAL MEET

CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS OPEN SEASON WITH LOCAL DUAL MEET

Sept. 5, 2009

BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams hosted a local dual-meet with neighboring Wheelock College on Saturday morning to open up the 2009 season. The meet finished on the newly renovated track surrounding Roberto Clemente Field. The Emmanuel women's team cruised to a win with six members of the Saints finishing before the first Wildcat crossed the finish line. Sophomore Brittany Sorice (Dover, N.H.) set the Emmanuel program record for the 2-mile course and placed first for the Saints, while classmate Maurizio Turco (Revere, Mass.) nabbed first place on the men's side.

The morning opened with the women's meet commencing at 10am. Emmanuel alum and 2009 GNAC Woman of the Year Cathryn Lariviere ran unattached and won the meet with a course record time of 12:56.64. Sorice took second, running the two miles in 13:41.86. Sophomore Stephanie Gomes (Ludlow, Mass.) followed closely behind, taking the second slot for Emmanuel with a time of 13:51.39.

Junior Victoria Cole (Carver, Mass.) picked up third place for the Saints, running a 14:15.00 race. Freshman Meaghan Reddy (Warwick, R.I.) notched fourth place for Emmanuel in her collegiate debut with a respectful time of 14:31.98. Sophomore Marissa LaFlamme (Newbury port, Mass.) was the fifth point-scorer for the Saints, running 14:38.49.

Wheelock was led by Kate Needham and Caitlin Burke, who ran 15:30.65 and 16:10.50, respectively.

The men's race began at 10:30am and again the top finisher was an unattached runner. Abdi Ibraham from Roxbury Community College picked up the win on the 5K course with a time of 17:27.48. The next three runners to cross the line were disqualified for running off-course. They included East Boston's Abdi Ibraham (17:49.55), along with Emmanuel's Stephen Armstrong (17:51.10) and Alen Smajic (17:52.11).

Turco took the win for the Saints with a time of 18:37.91. Sophomore Wesley Cowles (Hebron, Conn.) placed second with a time of 18:45.66. Emmanuel alum Justin Clements, running unattached, finished closely behind with a time of 19:12.51.

Freshman Mark Dougherty (Methuen, Mass.) ran 19:41.23 in his collegiate debut and nabbed the third slot for the Saints. Junior Ben Cleveland (Auburn, Maine) and senior Patrick Welton (Derby, Conn.) rounded out the top five for Emmanuel with times of 21:24.74 and 22:44.93, respectively.

The Saints will compete again next Saturday in Massachusetts Maritime Academy's Travis Fuller Invitational. The meet will begin at 10am in Buzzards Bay, Mass.