Junior Murphy led the Skyhawks with a 128th-place finish
SAINT LEO, Fla. (November 19, 2016) – The Stonehill College men's cross country team, ranked second in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East regional poll finished 24th overall at the NCAA Division II National Championship at The Abbey Course in Saint Leo, Florida on Saturday, November 19.
Stonehill raced to 24th place with 631 points, as Adams State University won the team championship with 54 points, led by sophomore Sydney Didabuday, who completed the 10-kilometer course in 29:56.8. Grand Valley State University placed second in the team standings with 79 points, while the Colorado School of Mines tallied 153 points, good for third place. Sophomore Vincent Kiprop of Missouri Southern State University picked up his second-straight NCAA individual title.
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"We are very happy for the men," stated head coach Karen Boen. "They raced up to their expectation. After 19 seasons, I've learned you don't always accomplish what you know your capable of at this level. The men did and the women just have to hold their heads high knowing that up until today, they had a great season."
Sophomore Jimmy Murphy (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) paced the Skyhawks with a 128th place finish in a time of 32:43.8, This was Murphy's first appearance on the national stage. Freshman Michael Durkin (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) followed close behind tallying 133rd place in his first appearance at the NCAA race, recording a time of 32:48.1.
Senior Joe Santo (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) finished 154th overall in the field of 242 runners in 33:06.8. Sophomore Riley Dowd (Peabody Mass./Peabody Veterans Memorial) placed 159th with a time of 33:10.0, while classmate Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional) rounded out the Skyhawks scoring runners in 165th place with a time of 33:18.5.
Seniors Antonio Xelhua (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) and Daniel Nolan (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) finished 185th and 204th with times of 33:42.6 and 34:53.4, respectively.
The Skyhawks earned their 14th-straight trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship by finishing as the runner-ups at the NCAA Division II East Regionals.
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