Stonehill takes seven of top-10 spots to repeat as invitational champs
|
| Freshman Nick Kirkpatrick won in his first collegiate race with a time of 27:20.7. |
MANCHESTER, N.H. (September 8, 2012) – The Stonehill College men's cross country team, ranked 25th overall in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Division II preseason poll, placed all seven of its runners inside the top-10 to win the 31st annual Shacklette Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Saint Anselm College.
Stonehill claimed top honors for the second-straight year at the Shacklette Invitational with 19 points scored. Merrimack ranked second overall (51), Assumption finished third (74), Bentley University ranked fourth (113) and Saint Anselm College rounded out the top-5 with 131 points.
Freshman Nick Kirkpatrick (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) led the Skyhawks covering the 8-kilometer course in 27 minutes and 20.7-seconds. Senior captain Sean Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) trailed slightly behind Kirkpatrick in 27:21.1 for second place.
Senior Timothy Johnson (Thomaston, Conn./Thomaston) finished fourth overall in 27:36.6, freshman Robert Massey (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) was fifth overall in 27:38.6 and sophomore Michael Gendron (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) solidified the Skyhawks top-5 with a seventh place finish overall (27:45.9).
Sophomore Seamus McEvoy (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) ranked ninth overall in 28:17.7 and junior Nathaniel Webber (Atkinson, N.H./Central Catholic) crossed the finish line in tenth place with a time of 28:25.8.
Stonehill returns to action on Saturday, September 15 at the Minuteman Invitational hosted by University of Massachusetts at 11:30 a.m.