Skyhawks book 13^th-straight trip to NCAA Division II Championships 

ALL-EAST REGION: All seven of Stonehill's runners earned All-East Region honors on the afternoon. From left to right: Emily Regan, Caroline McBride, Kristen Veit, Chelsea Bishop, Emily Anderson, Brianna Venturo and Sarah Biggers.

NASHUA, N.H. (November 4, 2012) – The Stonehill College women's cross country team, ranked 12th overall in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Division II national poll and first in the East Regional poll, secured its 13^th-straight trip to the NCAA Championships by winning the NCAA East Regional title for the fourth consecutive season on Sunday afternoon at Mine Falls Park. 

The Skyhawks finished first overall for the fourth-straight year at the East Regionals scoring 67 points. Stonehill's top-five runners all placed inside the top-20 out of 192 competitors. Adelphi University ranked second overall with 97 points and The College of Saint Rose finished third overall (161 points). All three teams move on to the NCAA Division Championships on Saturday, November 17 in Joplin, Missouri which will be hosted by Missouri Southern State University. 

"Knowing every year there is another team out there that is very strong and always trying to beat us motivates our women's squad to rise to the occasion and not be content with finishing second," said Stonehill College women's cross country head coach Karen Boen. "It is a great feeling as a coach knowing that this group continues to strive to build on the success this program has had over the years." 

Senior Caroline McBride (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) claimed All-East Region honors for the first time in her career finishing fourth overall on the 6-kilometer course in 21 minutes and 49.4-seconds, a new personal best. McBride surpassed her previous mark of 22:07 set on September 28 at the Brooks-Paul Short Run Gold Race. 

"Caroline had a great day. Last year she wasn't in our top-seven but throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons last winter and spring Caroline worked very hard to be where she is at now," said Boen. "Caroline has been our number one runner all season but she is also a great teammate and leader. She works so hard to put this team in a position to win. It isn't about personal goals for Caroline; it's all about making this team place at the top of the field every weekend." 

Junior Chelsea Bishop (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) placed 11^th overall in 22:09.7, classmate Emily Regan (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regional) ranked 15^th overall with a time of 22:22.01, sophomore Emily Anderson (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) crossed the finish line in 22 minutes and 28.2-seconds and senior Kristen Veit (Easthampton, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) rounded out the top-five with a 20^th place finish in 22:32.4. All four runners posted new personal bests on the fast paced 6-kilometer layout and also earned All-East Region honors for placing inside the top-25. 

Bishop, Regan and Veit garnered All-East Region accolades for the second time in their careers with their performances while Anderson collected her first-career All-East Region honor on the afternoon. 

Junior Sarah Biggers (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Lakeland) finished 22^nd overall in 22:42.1 and sophomore Brianna Venturo (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) checked in at 23^rd overall with a time of 22:44.4. Biggers earned her second-career All-East Region selection and Venturo picked up her first-career All-East Region medal. 

"Earlier today before the race, the team talked about their goals for Nationals and knew that they needed to treat the East Regionals with the same focus and demeanor as they would the National Championships," said Boen. "If we want to run well at Nationals we need to have our top-seven inside the top-25 and they took that mindset into today's race. Our top-seven gap was less than a minute apart, which is kind of unheard of, but that's what we will have to do at Nationals to reach our goals." 

The Stonehill College women's team will be joined by the men's squad, who finished third overall today advancing to nationals for the tenth-straight season, at the NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday, November 17.