NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONS! - Women's Cross Cross Country Captures Sixth Conference Crown In Seven Years With 15 Point Victory Over UMass Lowell, Eight Skyhawks Earn All-Northeast-10 Accolades For Performances
October 22, 2006
STONEHILL WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
2006 Northeast-10 Conference Championships
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Bryant University, Smithfield, R.I.
FINAL TEAM SCORES TOP 15 INDIVIDUALS
1. Stonehill 32 1. Nicole Plante, UML 18:44
2. UMass Lowell 47 2. Melissa Nash, BEN 19:08
3. Bentley 120 3. Dana DeIngenis, STO 19:09
4. Merrimack 124 4. Kelly Chaisson, STO 19:24
5. LeMoyne 168 5. Nicole Radzik, BRY 19:25
6. Saint Rose 191 6. Linsey Cohen, MER 19:31
7. So. Connecticut 195 7. Lesley Clunie, STO 19:40
8. Bryant 202 8. Jenny Gardynski, STO 19:41
9. Saint Michael's 211 9. Sarah Merullo, UML 19:47
10. Saint Anselm 213 10. Jackie Oates, STO 19:48
11. Assumption 260 11. Christina DaLomba, UML 19:53
12. So. New Hampshire 380 12. Emily Thomas, UML 19:56
13. Pace 391 13. Jill Allen, STO 19:57
14. Franklin Pierce 426 14. Amanda Cantone, STA 19:58
15. Barbara Powell, BEN 20:02
SMITHFIELD, R.I.-- Stonehill claimed its sixth Northeast-10 Conference women's cross country championship in the last seven years on Sunday morning, as the 22nd-ranked Skyhawks placed all top five of their scorers in the top 10 overall to post a team score of 32 points and best runner-up UMass Lowell by 15 points in team competition held on the campus of Bryant University.
Stonehill, which had won five straight Northeast-10 crowns from 2000-2004, reclaimed the championship that UMass Lowell won in 2005 by a single point on the same course, as seniors Dana DeIngenis (Cranston, R.I.) and Kelly Chaisson (Walpole, Mass.) led the way by placing third and fourth, respectively, with times of 19:09 and 19:24 over the 5K layout. Junior Lesley Clunie (Newburyport, Mass.) and sophomore Jenny Gardynski (Everett, Mass.) were next for the Skyhawks in placing seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 19:40 and 19:41, while sophomore Jackie Oates (South Easton, Mass.) closed out the Stonehill scoring by placing 10th with a time of 19:48. DeIngenis, Chaisson and Clunie each earned first team all-conference accolades for their performances in placing in the top seven individually.
Senior Jill Allen (Peabody, Mass.) joined Gardynski and Oates in earning second team all-Northeast-10 honors, as she finished 13th individually with a time of 19:57, while senior Lauren Eynatian (Chelmsford, Mass.) and freshman Andrea Topalis (Simsbury, Mass.) earned third team all-conference accolades by placing 19th and 20th, respectively, with times of 20:08 and 20:12.
"I'm just so proud of the way this team has come together throughout the season-they won this championship today as a team," Stonehill Head Coach Karen Boen says of her squad's title. "The leadership we've received this year from Dana and Kelly as our captains has really carried us-their example and hard work has made everyone around them better, and today it really showed."
Stonehill's string of six Northeast-10 crowns in seven seasons is topped only in Northeast-10 history by Springfield's run of 12 straight titles in the 1980's and early 1990's. Bentley finished third in the final standings (120 points), while Merrimack (124) and LeMoyne (168) rounded out the top five.
The Skyhawks will seek their seventh straight trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships on Sunday, November 5th when Stonehill participates in the 2006 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championships at Franklin Park in Boston at 2:45 p.m.