2009 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IN REVIEW

2009 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IN REVIEW

April 27, 2010

The Emmanuel College Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams wrapped up another successful season, competing in five regular season meets during the 2009 season and two post-season meets. The Emmanuel women placed 3rd out of 10 teams in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship Meet and the men placed 4th out of 9 teams in the GNACs. Emmanuel's sophomore captain Stephen Armstrong (Revere, Mass.) received All-Conference honors by finishing in the top ten at the GNAC Championship.

Armstrong, Emmanuel's program-record holder in the 8k, consistently finished first for the Saints throughout the season and was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll on 9/28 and the GNAC Runner of the Week on 9/12. Fellow Revere natives, Maurizio Turco and Alen Smajic also ran in the Saints' top five during the 2009 campaign. Sophomore Wesley Cowles (Hebron, Conn.) and junior Ben Cleveland (Auburn, Me.) rounded out the top five point scorers for Emmanuel. Cowles and Smajic each received GNAC Weekly Honor Roll recognition during the season.

The Emmanuel women had seven competitors, who shared time in the top-five during the season. Three of the Saints received individual conference recognition during the fall and the entire Emmanuel women's team was recognized by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as one of the All-Academic Teams for the 2009 season.

Sophomore Brittany Sorice (Dover, N.H.) opened the season by setting a new program-record for a 2-mile course with a time of 13:42 on September 5th in Emmanuel's dual-meet with neighboring Wheelock College. Sorice was subsequently chosen the GNAC's Runner of the Week on 9/7. Freshman sensation Joslyn DelSignore (Taunton, Mass.) was a consistent point-scorer for the Saints this season. DelSignore was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll four times and typically placed first or second for Emmanuel.

Junior captain Victoria Cole (Carver, Mass.), sophomore Stephanie Gomes (Ludlow, Mass.), sophomore Marissa LaFlamme (Newburyport, Mass.), junior Meredith Martelli (Perrysburg, Ohio) and freshman Meaghan Reddy (Warwick, R.I.) also ran among the top five in various meets for the Saints this season. Cole was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll both on 9/12 and 9/28 after placing first for the Saints in both the Travis Fuller Invitational and the Codfish Bowl.

Head Coach Tony DaRocha and Assistant Coach Alice Kramer have just wrapped up their 9th seasons with the Emmanuel runners. DaRocha, Kramer and Assistant Coach Will Feldman will return in fall of 2010 for another exciting year with the program. Coaches DaRocha, Kramer and Feldman will return a solid group of veterans (9 men and 10 women) to the Saints' line-up next fall.

The coaches will lose just two seniors to graduation this May, seniors Doug Gillum (West Boylston, Mass.) and Patrick Welton (Derby, Conn.). Gillum captained the Men's Cross Country Team during his junior and senior years, as well as serving as captain for both the Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams. Both Gillum and Welton, a three sport cross country and track athlete as well, will be missed next year.