STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's College men's cross country team figures to improve on the squad's sixth-place performance in last season's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship.
The Monks, led by third-year Head Coach Ray Putnam, return nine runners from the 2012 team and feature three newcomers to the program this fall. Junior captain Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) looks to be the top runner again this year, but onlookers should not be surprised to see several of the younger team members make major contributions immediately.
The returning group is headlined by a hardworking and steadfastly improving sophomore class. Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine), Taidghe Hagan (Reading, Mass.), Billy Brooks (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), Sam Dunay (Groton, Conn.) and Mark McCarraher (Franklin, Mass.) are back with a year of collegiate running under their belts and seem poised to improve greatly on their 2012 results.
Other returners include senior Faisal Abdillahi (Lewiston, Maine) as well as juniors Jeff Merrill (Fitchburg, Mass.) and Matthew Boucher (Augusta, Maine). Look for this trio to provide leadership and depth on the trails for the Royal Blue in 2013.
Freshmen Cody Vachon (Shapleigh, Maine) and Nick Shuckrow (Winslow, Maine) highlight the rookie crop while sophomore Connor Dufour (Augusta, Maine), who played soccer at Saint Joseph's last fall, also joins the team in 2013. Vachon has already gained attention as the GNAC Rookie of the Week on September 2nd while Shuckrow and Dufour could both prove to be impact runners at some point this season.
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.
