STONEHILL WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
2006 NCAA Division II National Championships
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Escambia County Equestrian Center, Pensacola, Fla.
PENSACOLA, Fla.-- The 20th-ranked Stonehill women's cross country team finished in the top 17 for the fourth time in the last seven years at the NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday morning, as the Skyhawks finished 17th of 24 teams in the competition that took place at the Escambia County Equestrian Center as part of the 2006 NCAA Division II Fall Sports Festival.
Senior Kelly Chaisson (Walpole, Mass.) closed out her brilliant cross country career by becoming the third All-America performer in school history, as she finished 27th individually with a time of 21:25 over the 6K layout to join Meghann Shanahan and Dianna Chivakos as the Skyhawk trio of All-America honorees. Chaisson becomes the second Stonehill runner to earn All-America honors in the last three seasons.
In finishing as the top Northeast-10 Conference performer for the sixth time in the last seven years in the national championships, the 2006 league and NCAA Northeast Regional champion Skyhawks posted a team score of 371 points, topping conference and regional runner-up UMass Lowell by 92 points in the final team standings, as the River Hawks finished 20th overall.
"I've said all year that this team has absolutely gotten everything it has out of its abilities, and today was no exception," Stonehill Head Coach Karen Boen said after the championship race. "I'm so incredibly happy for Kelly to finish a great career as an All-America and for our entire team on such a great and steady effort throughout the season."
Senior Dana DeIngenis (Cranston, R.I.) was the second Skyhawk to cross the finish line, as she placed 49th individually with a time of 21:42, while junior Lesley Clunie (Newburyport, Mass.) was next with a time of 22:40 that was good for 92nd place. Sophomores Jackie Oates (South Easton, Mass.) and Jenny Gardynski (Everett, Mass.) closed out the Stonehill scoring by placing 101st and 102nd, respectively, with times of 22:54 and 22:55, while senior Jill Allen (Peabody, Mass.) and freshman Andrea Topalis (Simsbury, Conn.) placed 140th and 143rd, respectively, with times of 23:50 and 23:53 but did not factor into the scoring.
Adams State (Colo.) won the national championship with a team score of 94 points, besting runner-up Western State (Colo.) by seven points and third place Grand Valley State by 71 points. Western State's Esther Komen won the individual title with a time of 20:09.
Stonehill made its seventh straight appearance at the NCAA Division II national championships after capturing both the Northeast-10 and NCAA Northeast Regional titles for the sixth time since 2000.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Adams State 94
2. Western State 101
3. Grand Valley State 165
4. Cal State-Los Angeles 169
5. Harding 186
6. Seattle Pacific 195
7. Colorado-Colorado Springs 211
8. Wisconsin-Parkside 216
9. Chico State 228
10. Edinboro 288
11. Augustana (S.D.) 306
12. Abilene Christian 327
13. North Dakota 348
14. Kutztown 364
15. Florida Southern 366
16. California-San Diego 369
17. STONEHILL 371