Women's Cross Country Seeks Sixth Northeast-10 Crown In Seven Years, Set To Begin 2006 Campaign Saturday Afternoon At Connecticut College Invitational

September 7, 2006

The old adage that "all good things must come to an end" unfortunately applied to the Stonehill women's cross country team last season, as the Skyhawks saw their run of five straight Northeast-10 Conference and NCAA Northeast Regional crowns come to an end by the slimmest of margins. But with a bevy of experience returning for the 2006 campaign, Head Coach Karen Boen's charges are ready to make a run at regaining both titles along with a return trip to the NCAA championships.

Stonehill, whose five league titles from 2000 through 2004 marked the second longest such skein of success in Northeast-10 history, has made its presence felt at the conference, regional and national levels under Boen's tutelage and looks to continue that trend again this fall. Boen is set to welcome back 11 letterwinners as preparations for the 2006 campaign continue, including four individuals who earned all-conference and all-regional honors last season.

The senior trio of Kelly Chaisson (Walpole, Mass./Bishop Feehan), Dana DeIngenis (Cranston, R.I./St. Mary's Academy-Bay View) and Lauren Eynatian (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) provide a veteran presence for the Skyhawks, as all three earned all-Northeast-10 accolades last fall, with Chaisson and DeIngenis earning additional all-regional honors at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships. Chaisson, a three-time all-conference performer, and DeIngenis, who became Stonehill's first women's outdoor track All-America last spring, helped lead the Skyhawks to their sixth straight appearance at the NCAA Division II National Championships, where Stonehill finished 19th in team competition. Junior Meghan Barrett (Norfolk, Mass./Bishop Feehan) also returns after earning all-conference honors last year, as the two-time all-Northeast-10 honoree posted her second straight top-21 finish in the event.

Senior Jill Allen (Peabody, Mass./Peabody Memorial) and junior Lesley Clunie (Newburyport, Mass./Governor Dummer) provide experience as returning upperclassmen for Boen this fallm while a quintet of sophomores are also looking to impact the Skyhawk fortunes in 2006, as sophomores Kasey Black (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson), Katie Brague (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield), Jenny Gardynski (Everett, Mass./Everett), Jackie Oates (South Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) and Alicia Sousa (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) return to seek spots in the Stonehill lineup.

Senior Maura Williams (West Hartford, Conn./Ellington), who has been a track and field standout for Boen for three seasons, makes her initial foray into cross country this fall, while nine other newcomers dot the Stonehill roster looking to make an impact in junior Marissa Lapointe (Ludlow, Mass./Holyoke Catholic), sophomore Kristina Coriarty (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) and freshmen Bridget DeVincent (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro), Christine Doherty (Canton, Mass./Canton), Meaghan Murphy (North Conway, N.H./Kennett), Leanne Quinn (Medway, Mass./Medway), Aja Roddy (Bloomingdale, N.Y./Saranac Lake), Meghan Sullivan (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) and Andrea Topalis (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury).