Men Finish 40th at NCAA DIII New England Championship

Men Finish 40th at NCAA DIII New England Championship

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College closed out the 2014 season by placing 40th with 1187 points in the NCAA DIII New England Regional Championship at Mt. Greylock Regional High School on Saturday. Sophomore Nick Shuckrow (Winslow, Maine) paced the Monks with a 28:16 time and finished 161st out of 373 participants in the regional championship.

Freshman Lucas Fisher (Strafford, N.H.) completed his impressive rookie campaign by posting a 29:00 effort, which was good for 201st on the day, while senior Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) capped a memorable collegiate career by placing 235th after touring the challenging 8K course in 29:35 minutes.

For Saint Joseph's, junior Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) placed 276th (30:22), junior Taidghe Hagan (Reading, Mass.) finished 314th (31:14) and senior Matt Boucher (Augusta, Maine) was 348th (34:59) in his final NCAA cross country race.

 

NCAA RELEASE (Courtesy of Williams College):

Williamstown, MA – On Saturday, Williams College hosted the 2014 NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships.  Nearly 400 runners from more than 50 teams competed in the men's 8k championship race.  The course at Mt. Greylock Regional High School is known to be challenging, with many hills to test the runners' strength.  The competitors battled it out under sunny skies and a high temperature of 35 degrees.  The many spectators lining the course created a festive atmosphere of immense energy.

MIT took the race out hard from the start with four runners leading through the first two miles.  As the runners entered the flatter middle section of the course, Colin Cotton of Williams and Colby's David Chelimo made moves to join MIT's Spencer Wenck in the lead pack.  After the four-mile mark, a large uphill provides the final challenge before an easy descent into the finish.  Here, Cotton showed a burst of speed to open up a 50-meter gap on Wenck.  Cotton cruised to the finish line to take the victory in 25:10.

Behind Cotton, the runner-up was MIT's Spencer Wenck in 25:15.  Bijan Mazaheri of Williams took third in 25:26.  In fourth was Amherst's Mohamed Hussein in 25:30.  David Chelimo of Colby held on to take fifth ahead of Amherst's Greg Turissini by one tenth of a second.  Both runners crossed the line in 25:33.  Seventh place belonged to Jeff Hale of Colby and his 25:37 performance.  MIT's Matt Deyo took eighth in 25:38, followed by Tim Nichols of Tufts in 25:39.  Wilder Shaaf of Middlebury finished tenth with a time of 25:40.  The top 35 finishers earn all-region honors.  Additionally, the top seven finishers from non-qualifying teams earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Championship to take place on November 22 in Mason, OH.

With five runners in the top 21 places, Colby College won the Regional title with a score of 61 points.  Amherst College finished in second with 70 points.  With this performance, these two teams have automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship.

In third place were the Engineers of MIT, falling one point short of second place with a score of 71.  The host Williams finished fourth with 85 points.  Middlebury finished fifth with a score of 136, and Tufts took sixth with 165 points.  These teams are among those that will be competing for an at large bid to the NCAA Championship.  In total, 16 teams nationwide will qualify at the discretion of the USTFCCCA selection committee.  As of 2013, there is no limit on how many teams from one region may qualify for the NCAA Championship.  Last year, the New England region received four at large bids in addition to the two automatic qualifiers for a total of six qualifying teams.

 

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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.