WESTFIELD, MA – Saint Joseph's placed 27th out of 51 teams with 777 points in the 2012 NCAA Division III New England Women's Cross Country Regional at Stanley Park on Saturday. Sophomore Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine) finished in 49th with a 22:47.27 effort in the annual championship.
Dostie's time ranks as the fastest 6K effort ever posted by a Saint Joseph's runner and nearly 30 seconds better than her performance in the NCAA Regional last fall. Her overall finish is also a program all-time regional-race best and the Monks' team finish and points tally both rank as the second-best, behind the 26th-place, 771-point effort in 2008, in team history.
Dostie was the top-finishing GNAC runner and helped the Monks place ahead of 2012 GNAC Champion Johnson & Wales University, which finished in 31st with 862 points in this year's NCAA Regional.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the #1 team in the nation, placed four runners in the top 12 to claim the regional crown for the second time in the last four seasons and first since 2009. MIT scored 58 points and was followed by NESCAC rivals Williams College (75) and Middlebury College (89), Bates College (145) and Amherst College (190).
MIT and Williams earned automatic berths to next Saturday's NCAA National Championship while Middlebury, Bates and Amherst are strong contenders to receive invitations to the NCAA meet.
MIT was led by Elaine McVay (5th, 21:43.53), Brooke Johnson (8th, 21:48.09), Nicole Zeinstra (10th, 22:00.08), and Katilin Allen (12th, 22:04.09.). Martina de Geus also earned All-New England honors, bestowed upon the top 35 individuals, for MIT by placing 23rd.
MIT's strength up front was too much as Williams' third best runner – Brianne Mirecki - placed 17th and Middlebury's second best runner – Lucy Whipps - finished 13th.
Amherst senior Keri Lambert earned top individual accolades with a 20:48.94 effort, the fastest NCAA New England Regional time over the last 10 years, and Middlebury senior Addie Tousley finished as the runner-up with a 21:07.13 effort. Williams junior Kaleigh Kenny was third (21:29.91), Williams sophomore Adrienne Strait placed fourth (21:38.10) and MIT sophomore Elaine McVay rounded out the top five with a 21:43.53 performance.
For the Monks, sophomore Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) was 114th (23:58.33) out of 367 participants, freshman Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) placed 157th (24:47.78), senior Ashley Condon (Sumner, Maine) finished in 200th (25:39.19), freshman Grace Dancoes (Falmouth, Maine) raced to a 272nd-place (27:16.22) finish, sophomore Kirstin McCombs (Lewiston, Maine) was 286th (27:56.31), and freshman Riley Jones (Winslow, Maine) placed 315th (29:25.28).
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
