STANDISH, ME – Sophomore Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine) claimed the fourth individual victory of her young career with a 20:49 performance in a head-to-head 5K race with University of New England at the Saint Joseph's cross country course on Saturday morning.
Dostie bested the runner-up finisher, Nor'easters freshman Michaela Moran (Atkinson, N.H.), by 28 seconds and the Monks placed three runners in the top six overall, but it was not enough as UNE recorded a close 27-33 victory in what was the first action of the year for both programs.
For St. Joe's, freshman Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) placed third with a 21:38 time while sophomore Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine), a first-year runner, finished sixth after touring the 5K course in 22:48. Senior Ashley Condon (Sumner, Maine) was the 11th participant to cross the line with a 23:17 effort and sophomore Audrey Curry (Perry, Maine) notched a respectable 23:57 time to place 14th overall.
For UNE, Annelise Donahue (South Portland, Maine) finished fourth (22:30), Lindsey Forrette (Chicopee, Mass.) (22:33) placed fifth (22:33) and Michelle Reidy (22:49), Colleen Ahern (Salem, Conn.) (22:53), Sarah Croston (Brunswick, Maine) (23:07) and Erin Edwards (23:09) finished 7-10 to help propel the visitors to victory.
Freshman Riley Jones (Winslow, Maine) placed 19th (25:06), first-year Lauren Smith (North Kingstown, R.I.) was 25th (26:59), senior Lauren Tidd (Walpole, Mass.) finished 30:08) and Cally Hughes (Waterville, Vt.) placed 30th (30:38). Sophomore Melissa Deplanche (Dover, N.H.) finished 31st (31:38) and senior Sarah Bakun (Clinton, Mass.), a first-year team member, was 32nd (32:19).
Saint Joseph's takes to the trails next Saturday when the Monks compete in the UNE Invitational at Rotary Park in Biddeford. The race is slated to begin at 10:45 AM.
