Boen Named NE10 Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year

Boen brings total to 52 Coach of the Year awards

NE10 Major Awards and All-Conference Release

EASTON, Mass. (October 31, 2017) – The Stonehill College women's cross country's head coach Karen Boen has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Men's and Women's Coach of the Year, as announced by the league on Tuesday. 

Boen, who is in her 20th season in charge of the women's cross country program and 18th season in charge of the men's cross country at Stonehill, has totaled 52 Coach of the Year awards. She has led the women's team to their 16th Northeast-10 Conference title and ninth-straight crown this fall. Boen has also driven the men to their ninth title in program history. The men's squad will aim to punch its 15th-straight ticket, while the women look to continue the streak with its 18th-straight trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship by competing in the East Regional Championship this Saturday.  

The women's team won its 16th NE10 Championship one weekend ago in dominating fashion, as seven runners finished in the top 21, making All-Conference teams. The Skyhawks just merely beat out Assumption College, with its 39 points, two less than the Greyhounds' 41 tallies. Senior Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) captured the program's third-straight individual title, which Nicole Borofski '17 won back-to-back years previously. This was the fourth time in conference history that a school has won the individual title three-straight years, with Springfield College leading the way with six-straight individual titles spanning from 1987-92.

Both teams have been on a roll this season, as the women have won four of its five meets, while the men have won all five meets, for the first time in program history.

The men's squad won its ninth title in program history, as the Skyhawks (44 points) edged out American International College (46 points) by two points. Stonehill saw six of its seven runners finish in the top 21, making All-Conference teams. Stonehill also dominated the course seeing three runners in the top 10. The men's program is second in conference history with nine titles, while Bentley University leads the way with 13 crowns. Stonehill last won the title in 2013 and had taken second place to the Yellow Jackets for three-straight years before this season. Junior Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) led the way for the men with his first cross country All-Conference first team honor finishing fifth among the 150 competitors with a time of 25:21.24. 

This is the fourth year that Boen has tallied both the men's and women's Coach of the Year Award in cross country, the other years include: 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2004. Boen's success extends beyond the conference level, however, she has also collected East Region Coach of the Year Honors for all six tems.. Overall, her resume includes 52 NE10/East Region Coach of the Year Awards, 29 NE10 Championships, and 17 East Region Championships across the six teams she is in charge of. Boen, who was inducted into the Stonehill Hall of Fame in 2014, has overseen the development of 50 All-Americans and three fellow Hall of Fame inductees.

Stonehill travels to Amherst, New York to compete in the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship on Saturday, November 4, hosted by Daemen College.

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