WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Saint Joseph's women's cross country team completed the 2014 docket with a 41st-place (1176 points) finish in the 2014 NCAA DIII New England Regional Championship at Mt. Greylock Regional High School on Saturday. Senior Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine) led the Monks with a 24:11 effort and finished 95th out of 387 runners overall.
For Saint Joseph's, senior Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) closed out her fine career by placing 142nd with a 24:53 time, sophomore Marie Harrington (Limerick, Maine) finished 289th (27:37) and junior Grace Dancoes (Falmouth, Maine) was 309th (28:13). Junior Riley Jones (Winslow, Maine) toured the 6K course in 29:08 and placed 341st while sophomores Kristina Schelling (Pelham, N.H.) and Marisa Lundy (Merrimac, Mass.) finished 355th (29:53) and 372nd (33:08), respectively.
The regional race signals the end of collegiate cross country for one of the best 1 -2 punches – Dostie and Eaton - in the history of the SJC women's program. Dostie, a three-time GNAC Runner of the Year and four-time All-GNAC honoree, is the only women's runner in team history to place in the top 100 all four years in the NCAA New England event. Eaton, a three-year member of the program, claimed All-GNAC honors on three occasions and posted a runner-up finish in this fall's GNAC Championship.
NCAA RELEASE (Courtesy of Williams College):
WILLIAMSTOWN, M.A.-- The MIT women were victorious at the NCAA Div. 3 Regional hosted by Williams College at the Mount Greylock Regional High School's 6k course. The top teams were First place MIT with 40 points and second place Middlebury with 65 points. Both MIT and Middlebury have thus automatically qualified for the NCAA championships, which will be held on November 22nd in Mason, Ohio.
Third place Williams (95), fourth place Amherst (127), 5th place Wellesley (280), and 6th place Tufts (207) may qualify for NCAA's as well with an at-large bid, which will be granted under the discretion of the USTFCCCA. Up to four teams from each region behind the top two teams may be selected nationwide for an at-large bid. The weather was cold and sunny, with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees. 57 teams and 387 runners overall competed in the women's 6k race and navigated the High School's tough, hilly course. The top 35 individual finishers also received All-Region honors, and the top seven individual finishers from non-qualifying teams will earn a ticket to Nationals as well.
MIT dominated the upper part of the field, running in packs and placing 4 runners in the top 10 finishers of the race, while Middlebury placed two in the top 10. Sarah Quinn of MIT was the undisputed individual winner, leading for much of the race finishing in 21:39.9. She gapped runner-up Alison Maxwell of Middlebury, who closed in 21:48.8. Audrey Gould of Tufts finished third in 21:51.8. Fourth was Summer Spillane of Middlebury in 21:54.2, fifth Christina Wicker of MIT in 21:57.4 right in front of teammate Elaine McVay in 21:59. Sophomore Emma Zehner of Williams was seventh overall in 22:00.4. Maryann Gong of MIT (22:06), Savanna Gornisiewicz of Amherst (22:09.2), and Priyanka Fouda of Wellesley (22:14.1) rounded out the top 10 overall finishers, respectively.
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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.
