STANDISH, Maine – Colby-Sawyer College claimed a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) titles on Saturday, as the Chargers' men's and women's teams earned 2019 GNAC Cross Country Championships with 56 and 44 points, respectively, at Saint Joseph's College on Saturday afternoon.
In the first-ever 6K GNAC Championship, Colby-Sawyer placed four runners in the top 11 overall, including freshmen Shannon O'Connell and Zoe Utton, who finished second and third with 23:58 and 24:12 efforts, and senior Alison Fairbairn, who raced to an eighth-place finish with a 25:11 time.
Suffolk University senior Emily Manfra claimed GNAC Runner of the Year honors after pacing the field with a 23:11 time and O'Connell was the runner-up – and GNAC Rookie of the Year as the top-finishing first-year competitor – with a 23:58 performance.
Suffolk finished second with 62 points, Saint Joseph's was third with 104 points, Regis College placed fourth with 117 points, and Emmanuel College rounded out the top five teams with 120 points.
Norwich University (131 pts), Simmons University (147), Johnson & Wales University (234), Rivier University (237), and University of Saint Joseph (286) also competed in the 2019 GNAC Championship.
For Saint Joseph's, freshman Camilla Grosso (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) placed 15th (25:50), first-year Kelsey Kennedy (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) finished 18th (26:04), sophomore Lauren Fisher (Hampton Falls, N.H.) was 19th (26:09), sophomore Julia Heroux (Albion, R.I.) placed 25th (26:57), and senior Marisa Quirion (Gardiner, Maine) raced to a 27th-place finish (27:04).
FIRST TEAM ALL-GNAC (top seven finishers):
Emily Manfra, Suffolk
Shannon O'Connell, Colby-Sawyer
Zoe Utton, Colby-Sawyer
Magdalene Mann, Regis
Samantha Molinari, Rivier
Alice Najimy, Simmons
Remi Parker, Norwich
SECOND TEAM ALL-GNAC (8th – 14th place finishers):
Alison Fairbairn, Colby-Sawyer
Molly Winship, Emmanuel
Marin Stamer, Suffolk
Emily Carrigan, Colby-Sawyer
Maddie Boucias, Regis
Skyler Spanbauer, Suffolk
Hannah Fitzpatrick, Emmanuel
MAJOR AWARDS:
TEAM CHAMPION: Colby-Sawyer College (44 pts)
RUNNER-UP: Suffolk University (62 pts)
GNAC RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Emily Manfra (Suffolk), 23:11
GNAC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Shannon O'Connell (Colby-Sawyer), 23:58 (2nd)
GNAC COACH OF THE YEAR: TBD
GNAC SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM: TBD
GNAC ALL SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM:
Abbie Castriotta, Colby-Sawyer
Tierney Bisillion, Emmanuel
Samantha Passetto, Johnson & Wales
Amanda Miller, Lasell
Belle Magna, Norwich
Maggie Mann, Regis
Samantha Hilsman, Rivier
Emily Wassick, U. of Saint Joseph
Liz Cummons, Saint Joseph's
Gabby Freeman, Simmons
Liv Chilcott, Suffolk