STANDISH, Maine – University of New England cruised to victory with 37 team points in the 12th Annual Runnin' Monks Invitational at Saint Joseph's College on Saturday morning.
Saint Joseph's seniors Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine) and Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) finished first (20:52) and second (20:58), respectively, while Emmanuel College senior Martina Benassi (North Haven, Conn.) placed third (21:24), UNE freshman Lindsay Maffei (Windham, N.H.) was fourth (21:25) and Emmanuel senior Chloe Egan (Burlington, Vt.) ran to a fifth-place finish (21:43) in the 5K race.
Emmanuel finished as the runner-up with 47 points while Maine-Farmington placed third with 89 points and Saint Josephs' was fourth with 92. Emerson College (109 points), Johnson State (188), Nichols College (206) and Thomas College (226) placed fifth through eighth while Maine Machias featured runners in the race but did not score.
For Saint Joseph's, junior Grace Dancoes (Falmouth, Maine) placed 30th (23:52), sophomore Marie Harrington (Limerick, Maine) finished 39th (24:20), and junior Riley Jones (Winslow, Maine) was 42nd (24:25). Sophomores Kristina Schelling (Pelham, N.H.) (26:06, 58th), Marisa Lundy (Merrimac, Mass.) (26:48, 65th) and Meghan Fullarton (Windham, Maine) (32:46, 82nd) also competed in the event for the Monks.
Dostie has posted the same 20:52 effort – which counts as the second-fastest ever recorded by an SJC runner in the team's hosted event – in back to back years as the senior standout placed third with the time in the 2013 invitational. Interestingly, Eaton also notched the same exact time – 20:58 – in last fall's Runnin' Monks race. Her performance ranks as the third-fastest registered by a St. Joe's runner in the event.
For University of New England, which also sent a split squad to the James Earley Invitational at Westfield State today, the Runnin' Monks Invitational victory is the program's first.
Saint Joseph's returns to the trails next Saturday when the Monks compete in the 2014 Maine State Championship, which is hosted by Maine-Farmington at Mount Blue High School.
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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.
