WINTHROP, Mass. – The Norwich University men and women have been selected first in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Cross Country Preseason Polls, it was announced on Wednesday morning. The league's 12 head coaches took part in the voting.
The GNAC will also conduct pre-championship polls the week prior to the 2017 GNAC Championships, which will be hosted by Johnson & Wales University (RI) at Colt State Park in Bristol, R.I. on Saturday, October 28.
For Saint Joseph's College, the men finished fourth with 71 points while the women earned 77 points and are ranked seventh in the preseason poll.
The men will be led by senior captain and three-time All-Conference runner Lucas Fisher (Strafford, N.H.) while sophomores Jacob Boissonnault (Biddeford, Maine), Kevin McWilliams (New Milford, Conn.), and Ben Plante (Biddeford, Maine) also return and figure to help the Monks improve upon their projected finish.
Junior captain Sarah Curtin (Strafford, N.H.), a 2016 All-Conference honoree, highlights the SJC women's list of returners, which also includes juniors Kelsey Barrett (Gardiner, Maine), Lauren Lecompte (Lewiston, Maine), and Alysha Smith (Jaffrey, N.H.) as well as sophomores Mackenzie Beaudoin (Fayette, Maine), Analyse Harris (Windham, Maine), Mckenzie Pepin (Windham, Maine), Marisa Quirion (Gardiner, Maine), and Amanda Tavoletti (Reading, Mass.). Head Coach Scott Hutchinson, now in his second year at the helm, brought in a deep and talented recruiting class, which will surely help the women finish ahead of their forecasted performance.
For the complete poll results, please see below.
Norwich swept the men's and women's races at the 2016 GNAC Championships at Franklin Park in Boston. The Norwich men have now won each of the last two GNAC titles, while JWU will look to reclaim glory in 2017 having won five conference crowns in a seven-year span from 2008-14. On the women's side, Emmanuel College laid claim to the GNAC Championship in 2013 and 2015, with Norwich proving victorious in 2014 and 2016.
The Norwich men saw its own runners finish second through fifth at least year's championship race, and in the poll collected nine of a possible 10 first-place votes. Emmanuel College placed second with 86 points and JWU was third with 82 points and one first-place tally. Saint Joseph's of Maine was fourth with 71 points, while Regis (Mass.) and Suffolk University shared fifth place with 51 points apiece.
On the women's side, Norwich student-athletes placed finishers in fourth, fifth, 11th and 12th places at last year's event. The Cadets earned nine first-place votes, while last year's GNAC runner-up (via tiebreak) Simmons College was second with two first-place nods and 128 points overall. Emmanuel was third with 118 points, while this year's host JWU and Suffolk rounded out the poll's top-five with 95 and 85 points, respectively.
2017 GNAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Norwich (9) – 99
2. Emmanuel – 86
3. Johnson & Wales (1) – 82
4. Saint Joseph's of Maine – 71
T5. Regis (Mass.) – 51
T5. Suffolk – 51
7. Lasell – 46
8. Mount Ida – 23
9. Rivier – 21
10. Anna Maria – 20
2017 GNAC Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Norwich (9) – 141
2. Simmons (2) – 128
3. Emmanuel (1) – 118
4. Johnson & Wales – 95
5. Suffolk – 85
6. Saint Joseph (Conn.) – 84
7. Saint Joseph's of Maine – 77
8. Regis (Mass.) – 76
9. Lasell – 56
10. Mount Ida – 28
11. Rivier – 27
12. Anna Maria – 21
#GOMONKS
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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 474-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.
