Skyhawks Finish 6th Overall at National Catholic Championships

Stonehill places second among all Division II schools

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (September 16, 2011) – The Stonehill College men's cross country team, ranked 20th overall in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Division II preseason poll, finished sixth overall out of 31 teams made up of Division I and Division II teams on Friday afternoon at the National Catholic Championships hosted by Notre Dame.

Notre Dame took the meet with 28 points while Marquette University finished second (88 points), Dayton third (118), Bellarmine University fourth (124) and Xavier fifth (176).

The Skyhawks tallied 193 points for their sixth place finish overall and among all Division II schools placed second with 69 points behind Bellarmine University (34 points). Aquinas College (106), Loras College (134) and Saint Vincent College (185) rounded out the top-five for Division II schools.

Senior Stephen Polito (Worcester, Mass./Doherty Memorial) led Stonehill with a 29th place finish overall among all schools and an eighth place finish among all Division II schools with a time of 25:31 on the 8-kilometer course.

Sophomore Trent Fontanella (Pelham, N.H./Bishop Guertin) crossed the finish line in 25:32 (31st/10th) while Ethan Penney (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) and Paul Cina (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) followed at 25:35 and 25:40, respectively.

Stephen Leonard (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) rounded out the top-five for Stonehill with a 63rd place finish overall (26th among Division II teams) in 26 minutes and two seconds.

The Skyhawks return to action on Saturday, September 24 at the 44th Annual Codfish Bowl Franklin Park (Dorchester, Mass.; hosted by UMass Boston) at 10 a.m.

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