Women’s Cross Country Places Sixth at Western New England Invitational

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman Meagan Dias (Ludlow, Mass.) placed ninth overall, leading the Western New England University women's cross country team to a sixth-place finish this morning at its annual home meet, the Western New England Invitational.

Dias completed the five-kilometer course, which runs through the woods and athletic facilities on the Western New England campus, in 20:18. Her ninth-place effort helped the Golden Bears finish sixth as a team with a total of 142 points. Westfield State University won the team title with 32 points and also boasted the top two finishers in Jess Cardin (18:29) and Ashley Monahan (19:26).

Gordon College placed second with 69 points, while Worcester State University (93), the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (129) and Rhode Island College (138) rounded out the top-five in the 17-team field.

Sophomore Kathleen Silveira (Plainfield, Conn.) was the second Golden Bear to cross the finish line this morning, doing so in 20:00, good for 27^th overall out of 141 competitors. Junior Amy Grindle (Feeding Hills, Mass.) followed Silveira in 35^th place (21:20), while senior Hailie Laviolette (Palmer, Mass.) and freshman Kaitlin Armstrong (Bolton, Conn.) finished 43^rd (21:43) and 56^th (22:20), respectively.

Rounding out Western New England's top-7 today was junior Rachel Duda (Clinton, Conn.) and sophomore Bailey Maus (Durham, Conn.). Duda turned in a time of 22:42, good for 63^rd overall, and Maus finished 74^th in 23:30.

Western New England will be off next weekend before returning to action on Saturday, October 31^st at the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships.

Women's XC Grabs Silver at Golden Bear Invite

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.— Senior Mariah Geiger's (Londonderry, N.H.) fifth place finish led Gordon Women's Cross Country to a silver placement at the Golden Bear Invitational. Geiger registered her first top five performance of the season and Gordon racked up just 69 points despite missing Emily Nelson (West Chester, Pa.).

Geiger finished the 5k race in a time of 19:43. Julia Drewicke (San Francisco, Calif.) was the second Scot to finish the race with a time of 20:25, which was good enough for 12^th overall. Louisa Dodds (Hillsdale, N.Y.) was not far behind the top two Scots, adding another top 15 placement to Gordon's belt with a time of 20:33.

Hannah Fisher (No. Attleboro, Mass.) and Eliza Stiles (Berlin, N.H.) rounded out Gordon's scorers with back-to-back finishes in 18^th and 19^th overall.

Top 5 Teams

  1. Westfield State     
            1    2    8   10   11  (21) (24) =    32
         Jess Cardin, Ashley Monahan, Mary Elizabe Dignan, Megan erickson, Kara
         Penney, Shannon Grossman, Lauren Izabel
  2. Gordon              
            5   12   15   18   19  (32) (34) =    69
         Mariah Geiger, Julia Drewicke, Louisa Dodds, Hannah Fisher, Eliza
         Stiles, Hanna Laue, Emma Gray
  3. Worcester State     
            4   14   22   25   28  (29) (33) =    93
         Mia Rogers, Laura DelleChiaie, Kelsey Bedard, Danielle Cote, Sara
         McIsaac, Shayla Schoeneberge, Justine Murdocca
  4. St. Joseph (Conn.)  
            3    7   37   39   43  (69) (83) =   129
         Kaneen Gomez-Hixson, Mia Tompkins, Mary Anderson, Madison Boyce,
         Alyssa Vereneau, Rachel Mauthe, Amber Tremblay
  5. RIC                 
           17   23   27   30   41  (50) (76) =   138
         Briana Lenihan, Veronica Northup, Lauren Deguire, Laura Paiva, Allison
         Lomas, Ashley Bricault, Jess Trautman

Women's Cross Country Runner-up at Connecticut College Invitational

Brittany Bowman scored fourth for the Jumbos

WATERFORD, CT - With all five scorers finishing among the top 20 individually, the Tufts Women's Cross Country team was second at the six-kilometer Connecticut College Invitational held at Harkness Memorial State Park today.

Senior co-captain Audrey Gould was eighth, senior Olivia Beltrani placed 10th, junior Kelly Fahey finished 14th, sophomore Brittany Bowman ran 16th and junior co-captain Alice Wasserman posted a 19th-place effort adding up to a 67 score for Tufts. Only MIT at 62 was lower than the Jumbos at the 25-team meet.

Gould's 21:48.8 led the Jumbos. Beltrani crossed the finish line less than three seconds later in 21:51.6. Fahey scored third for the Jumbos with a 22:00.3 time. Bowman's 22:08.3 for fourth on the team was followed by Wasserman (22:23.5) to round out the Tufts scoring.

The Jumbos had seven runners in the top 25 overall out of 300 entries. Junior Samantha Cox was 23rd with a 22:30.2 time and senior Lily Corcoran finished in 22:34.3 to place 24th.

MIT's Maryann Gong was Saturday's individual champion with a 21:31.3 time.

Tufts will take a week off and then begin the championship season at the New England Small College Athletic Conference meet on October 31. Wesleyan University will host.

Golden Bears compete in the Westfield State James Earley Invitational at Stanley Park

WESTFIELD, MA – Western New England finished 26^th among of 39 teams at the Westfield State James Earley Women's Cross Country Invitational Saturday (Oct. 10) at Stanley Park.

With 409 runners competing in the event, this was the biggest race of the season for the Golden Bears.

Meagan Dias was the top finisher for Western New England placing 49^th with a time of 20 minutes, 10.94 seconds over the 5,000-meter course.

Hailie Laviolette crossed the finish line in 166^th place with a time of 21:53.90 while Kathleen Silveira was 197^th in 22:25.79.

Abby Shafer of New England College was the invidual winner in 18:04.05.

University of New England was the team champion with Williams, Saint Anselm, Westfield State, and Smith rounding out the top five.

Gong Paces Women’s Cross Country to Fifth at NEICAAA Championship

BOSTON, Mass. – The MIT women's cross country team, ranked No. 4 in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, finished fifth overall and first among Division III programs at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championship at Franklin Park on Saturday afternoon.

The NEICAAA Championship annually features Division I, II, and III programs from across the country, providing tough competition for each team that enters the race. Boston College, ranked No. 9 in the Division I New England regional poll claimed first place, Quinnipiac University was second, Yale University placed third, Stonehill College, No. 1 in the Division II regional poll was fourth and MIT accumulated a fifth place score.

In a field of 263 runners, MIT junior harrier Maryann Gong (Livermore, Calif.) placed first for the Engineers and 11^th overall with a time of 18:05.56. Coming off a difficult race at the Purple Valley Classic, Gong improved her time by four minutes this weekend. Gong was second among Division III runners only behind freshman Abigail Nadler (Chicago, Ill.) of Middlebury College. Classmate Christina Wicker (Oak Harbor, Wash.) crossed the finish line second for MIT and 31^st overall at 18:24.04, besting her time in Willamstown, Mass. a week ago by almost six minutes.

The next three Engineers placed within 2.31 seconds of each other. Freshman Megan Montgomery (Carrolton, Texas) was 67^th overall with a time of 18:49.21, sophomore Mary Eccles (Wahiawa, Hawaii) finished 72^nd at 18:50.83 and freshman Leandra Zimmermann (Augsburg, Germany) crossed the finish line 74^th overall at 18:51.52.

The Engineers race again next weekend at the Connecticut College Invitational held at Harkness Park in Waterford, Conn., with a start time expected for noon. In just two weeks, the Engineers return to Franklin Park for the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships.

MacLean Leads Cross Country at NEIAAA Championship

DORCHESTER, Mass. - Senior Kara MacLean (Braintree, Mass.) posted a personal-record time of 20:08.2 to lead the Simmons College women's cross country team at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championship this morning at historic Franklin Park in Dorchester, Mass.

The Sharks placed 21st as a team in the five kilometer race that featured Division I, II and III squads. Boston College was the top team finisher overall and Tufts University was the best Division III entry. 

Simmons placed ninth among Division three squads. Sophomore Askbrook Gwinn won the individual five kilometer race for Boston College with a mark of 18:33.2. Sydney Smith of Tufts University was the top Division III winner coming in at 18:53.6. 

MacLean bettered her previous best by 27 seconds and finished just nine seconds from breaking the 20-minute mark with 20:08.2. The senior placed 70th overall in the race and 21st among Division III runners. First year Samantha Jaffe (Fayetteville, N.Y.) matched her best time at 20:30.5 and placed 109th and 39th. Sophomore Allegra Egizi (Beverly, Mass.) clipped her personal-record time by two seconds at 20:51.3 to finish 142nd and 56th.

Junior Sara Harland (Pembroke, Mass.) turned in the best time of her career by 16 seconds and placed 189th and 74th, while senior Tiff Lo (Braintree, Mass.) showed the most dramatic time improvement on the team, beating her old mark by 34 seconds on a time of 22:28.3 and placed 257th and 102nd. Junior Madison Rivard (Sharon, Mass.) finished in the scoring for Simmons with a mark of 23:11.6 to place 276th and 115th. Senior Monica Khun (Phnom Penh,Cambodia/Lawrence HS (Mass.)) was the final person to score for the Sharks, finishing 283rd and 119th with a time of 23:25.6 to cut 22 seconds off her previous best.

First year Sarah Colbert (Lynnfield, Mass.) posted a time of 24:36.5 to edge her previous best by a second. She placed 310th overall and 138th among D-III competitors. Senior Marilyn Baremore (East Lyme, Conn.) was the seventh UMass runner to record a pesonal-record time at 25:13.7, a mark 20 seconds better than her former personal record. She finished 310th and 138th.

Simmons wil race again on Sunday, October 18 at the Seven Sister's Championship, hosted by Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Springfield Women's Cross Country Competes in the New England Championships

Boston, Mass - October 10, 2015 - The Springfield College women's cross country team competed on the Franklin Park 5K course at the New England Championships on Saturday afternoon. The Pride raced against the top teams in the region and finished 36th overall with a score of 936.

The Pride was led by Abby Wright (Pittsfield, Mass), who finished in a time of 19:24.7 and in 133rd place. Following Wright, was Samantha Pomroy (Lebanon, Maine), who completed the course in 19:50.0 and in 175th place. Elizabeth Footit (Wilbraham, Mass.) was next in with a time of 20:12.5 and in 197th place.

Rounding out the top five runners were Rachael Seymour (Red Hook, N.Y.) and Stephanie Williams (Simsbury, Conn.) in 238th and 245th place, respectively. Seymour finished in 20:56.8 and Williams finished in 21:15.1.

Boston College won the championship, while Quinnipiac, Yale, Stonehill and MIT followed.
The Pride will compete next Saturday, October 17th at the Connecticut College Invitiational.

Women's Cross Country Takes 5th at CCRI Invite

FLANAGAN, R.I. – The Wheaton College women's cross country team competed at the Community College of Rhode Island TriState Invitational on Saturday afternoon, finishing in fifth place out of 10 teams.

Danielle Poto of Bridgewater State was the top individual finisher, crossing the finish line in 19:42.43. Shannon Holden of Salve Regina finished in second (20:01.29), while Samantha McKosky of Eastern Connecticut State finished third (20:05.69).

Dagmara Sobczyk led the way for the Lyons with a 12^th place finish after crossing the finish line in 20:49.36. Abby Epplett also finished in the top-20 for Wheaton, finishing the race in 21:15.31.
First-year Isabel Anderson finished in 29^th place with a time of 21:55.36, while Kim Lagasse finished in 21:57.31 (32^nd).  Demetra Edwards rounded out the scoring for Wheaton with a time of 24:06.59, which earned her 67^th place.

The Lyons return to action on Oct. 17 at the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford, Conn. The meet is set to begin at noon.

For the latest on Wheaton College Athletics, follow the Lyons via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Women's Cross Country Concludes Paul Short Invite

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Wheaton College women's cross country team traveled to Lehigh University to compete in the Paul Short Invitational on Friday afternoon, where the Lyons finished 39^th in the College Women's Brown division.

Saint Josephs University finished the 5k race in first place with 166 points, while Bloomsburg University finished second (227) and Binghamton took third (252).

Katie McMeamin of Swarthmore was top individual with a time of 21:23, while Meagen Carter of Seton Hill finished second (21:26) and Allison Dekcer of East Stroudsburg took third (21:29).

Senior Georgia Crane was the Lyons top finisher with a time of 22:44, which was good enough for 77^th place.

Jordan Silva was the next Wheaton runner to cross the finish line, clocking a time of 23:57.

Sophomore Bay Gammans finished 10 seconds later with a time of 24:07, while first-year Emily Hammond was hot on her heals with a time of 24:08.

Sophomore Maddi Groen rounded out the top-five runners for the Lyons with a time of 24:15. Maddie Brucker ended her race in 24:25 and Rebecca Miceli registered a time of 24:43.

Wheaton returns to action on Oct. 17 at the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial Park. The race is set to begin at 11 a.m.

For the latest on Wheaton College Athletics, follow the Lyons via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Minutewomen Claim 27th At Paul Short Run

Junior Heather MacLean leads the pack for UMass in 65th overall

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Heather MacLean helped the University of Massachusetts women's cross country program to a 27th place team finish Friday at the Paul Short Invitational on the campus of Lehigh University. The junior was the first Minutewoman to complete the 6K course at 21 minutes, 39-seconds. Guelph, Cornell and Johns Hopkins dominated the 35-team field, taking first through third, respectively.

MacLean took the lead for UMass for a second straight week as the Peabody, Mass., native was 65th overall in a field of 312 runners. Carly Zinner was close behind, finishing at 21 minutes, 56-seconds, enough to earn 90th.

Colleen Sands found herself in the scoring again, taking 127th at 22:16. Ontario native Alexa Livingstone ran 22 minutes, 42-seconds to claim 184th, while Sydney Clary rounded out the top-five Minutewomen finishes in 216th. The freshman crossed the line at 22 minutes, 59-seconds.

Next week the Minutewomen are off to Boston for the New England Championship. The Franklin Park meet is scheduled for Saturday, October 10, with the gun set to sound at 12:00 p.m.