STANDISH, Maine – Johnson & Wales University totaled 44 team points to win the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Cross Country Championship on a soggy Saturday afternoon at Saint Joseph's College.
In one of the most closely-contested men's championships in recent memory, the Wildcats edged Norwich University by just one point to claim the program's fifth GNAC title in the last seven seasons and first since 2011. Johnson & Wales fielded three of the top four runners, including sophomore Adam Sachs (Ellicott City, Md.), who won the race with a 28:09 performance.
Saint Joseph's finished third with 67 points, Emmanuel College was fourth with 85 points, and Lasell College rounded out the top five grouping with 119 team points. Suffolk University (186 points), Rivier University (200) and Mount Ida College (212) also placed in the annual championship while Anna Maria College competed in the event but did not score.
Individually, Emmanuel junior Sean Colford (Epping, N.H.) – the 2013 GNAC champion – sprinted the last 60 yards to pass Johnson & Wales sophomore Harold Hennessey (Bolton, Conn.) at the finish line and earned runner-up honors with a 28:12 time. Wildcats sophomore Alex Melnick (Port Jervis, N.Y.) placed fourth with a 28:19 effort and Saint Joseph's sophomore Nick Shuckrow (Winslow, Maine) finished fifth after touring the 8K course in 28:35.
As the race-winner, Sachs collects GNAC Runner of the Year honors while Saint Joseph's freshman Lucas Fisher (Strafford, N.H.), who placed sixth with a 28:45 time, claimed GNAC Rookie of the Year accolades after finishing as the top first-year runner. Johnson & Wales Head Coach Hollie Walton was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year by a vote of his peers.
For Saint Joseph's, senior Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) barely missed All-Conference honors by placing 12th with a 29:32 effort, junior Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) finished 18th (30:09), junior Taidghe Hagan (Reading, Mass.) was 31st (31:20), and senior Matt Boucher (Augusta, Maine) placed 49th (34:58).
Men's Yearly Awards:
Men's Runner of the Year - Adam Sachs, Johnson & Wales
Men's Rookie of the Year - Lucas Fisher, Saint Joseph's (ME)
Men's Coach of the Year - Hollie Walton, Johnson & Wales
Men's All-Conference:
Adam Sachs (So.), Johnson & Wales
Sean Colford (Jr.), Emmanuel
Harold Hennessy (So.), Johnson & Wales
Alex Melnick (So.), Johnson & Wales
Nick Shuckrow (So.), Saint Joseph's
Lucas Fisher (Fr.), Saint Joseph's
Robert Greene (So.), Norwich
Oliver Wood (Fr.), Norwich
Jarrett Cavanaugh (Fr.), Norwich
Luke Moeckel (Sr.), Norwich
Buck Nichols (So.), Norwich
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
