STANDISH, ME – The 2013 Saint Joseph's College women's cross country season is already underway and optimism is rampant among team members and followers alike.
Led by third-year Head Coach Ray Putnam, the Monks bring back nine runners from a 2012 squad that recorded a runner-up effort in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship last fall.
Junior Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine), the two-time GNAC Runner of the Year, and sophomore Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), the 2012 GNAC Rookie of the Year, headline the returning corps and both will be pushed both by fellow returners and newcomers this season. Junior Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) claimed All-Conference honors last year and, along with Dostie and Rabideau, forms one of the elite threesomes in the conference.
Senior Sarah Bakun (Clinton, Mass.), juniors Audrey Curry (Perry, Maine) and Melissa Deplanche (Dover, N.H.) and sophomores Riley Jones (Winslow, Maine), Lauren Smith (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Grace Dancoes (Falmouth, Maine) also return and look to provide strong leadership and outstanding depth this fall.
Juniors Victoria Ramos (North Scituate, R.I.) and Marie Harrington (Limerick, Maine) join the Monks as first-year runners while freshmen Cynthia Andrews (Seal Harbor, Maine), Gabrielle Lodge (Westbrook, Maine), Mikaela Rowell (Derry, N.H.) and Kristina Schelling (Pelham, N.H.) have already shown a great deal of improvement and look to contribute immediately.
Saint Joseph's, which ran versus University of New England on the SJC course on August 31st, returns to action at UNE on Saturday, September 14th.
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 shore 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.
