Cross Country Squads Set To Compete For Respective NCAA Regional Crowns Sunday Afternoon At Franklin Park

November 5, 2005

Both Stonehill cross country teams will compete for their respective NCAA Division II Northeast Regional championships on Sunday afternoon in the 2005 championship races that will take place at Franklin Park in Boston. The womens 6K championship race will begin at 1:30 p.m., while the mens 10K championship race begins at 2:15 p.m.

Head Coach Karen Boens Skyhawk womens squad seeks its sixth straight NCAA regional crown on Sunday afternoon and its sixth straight trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships, which will be hosted by Cal Poly-Pomona on Saturday, November 19th. Stonehill captured the 2004 crown with a team score of 34 points to best runner-up UMass Lowells team score of 84 points, and senior Erin Smith (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) is the top returning Skyhawk performer from last years championship race, as she finished third overall with a time of 22:52. Juniors Kelly Chaisson (Walpole, Mass./Bishop Feehan) and Dana DeIngenis (Cranston, R.I./St. Marys Academy-Bay View) joined Smith in the top 10 last year for Stonehill in finishing sixth and 10th, respectively. Boen was named as the NCAA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year for her efforts on the womens side, marking the fifth such honor she received.

The Skyhawks will be looking to avenge a one-point (33-34) decision suffered to UMass Lowell at the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference championships that took place on October 23rd at Bryant University, as the River Hawks ended Stonehills five-year reign as league champions. The top two teams advance to the 2005 NCAA national championship race, where the Skyhawks posted their best team finish two years ago with a 10th place team score in Cary, N.C.

On the mens side, Stonehill will be looking for its third straight trip to the NCAA national championships, as the Skyhawks finished just two points in back of regional champion UMass Lowell (37-39) in last years championship race at Franklin Park. Senior T.J. Smith (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) is the top returning performer for Boens crew in this years regional championship, as he placed sixth overall in 2004 with a time of 32:18 over the 10K layout. Sophomores David Metzger (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) and Khalid Abdi (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) also recorded top 10 finishes in last years race by placing eighth and 10th, respectively.

Stonehill enters Sundays Northeast Regional championship as the Northeast-10 champion for the second straight season, as the Skyhawks bested UMass Lowell (33-38) in the 2005 league title race held October 23rd at Bryant University. Like the womens race, the top two teams in the region advance to the NCAA national championship race on November 19th at Cal Poly-Pomona. Stonehills best team finish at the national championships came in the Skyhawks debut in the event in 2003, as Boens squad placed 12th in the final team standings.