Lombardi earned All-NEC honors at the 2022 Championships and is among three top ten finishers back in tomorrow's lineup (PHOTO BY JD Cavrich) |
Women aim to finish one better after placing second on tiebreaker at 2022 NEC debut
Men picked fourth for its second NEC Championships appearance
NEC Men's Cross Country Championships Information Page
NEC Women's Cross Country Championships Information Page
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (October 27, 2023) – The Stonehill College men's and women's cross country programs are ready to compete for a Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship for the second time, aiming to make improvement and just perhaps stake the College's claim to the first NEC Championship in school history when the two teams participate at the 2023 NEC Championships, hosted by Long Island University, on Saturday.
The Championships will open with the men's eight-kilometer championship race on LIU's Brookville campus at 11 a.m., with the women's five-kilometer Championship scheduled to follow at noon. Live coverage of the two Championship races is available via NEC Front Row, with Austin Rooney and Angelia Rafter calling the action. The broadcast can be accessed via the NEC Front Row portal (necfrontrow.com) or through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku via the NEC On the Run App.
The Stonehill women were picked second in the NEC preseason coaches' poll announced in August, receiving three of eight first place votes, after finishing tied with five-time defending NEC Champions Central Connecticut State University in the Skyhawks NEC Championships debut in their inaugural NCAA Division I season last fall, but took home the runner-up trophy on a tiebreaker. Central is again the favorites heading into Saturday's Championships, receiving four first place votes in the preseason poll, while host LIU took the remaining first place vote and is picked third.
Black earned All-NEC honors at the 2022 event, posting a tenth place finish to lead the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY JD Cavrich) |
The Stonehill men are picked fourth in the NEC preseason coaches' poll announced in August, with Wagner College the unanimous choice to collect a fourth NEC title over the last five years. Central Connecticut State is picked second, with Merrimack College third ahead of the Skyhawks. Stonehill finished fourth in its NEC Championships debut in 2022.
Stonehill returns its top four finishers, including three who finished in the top ten, and five who will be competing at their second NEC Championship on the women's side. Junior Emma Lawrence, fifth-year Victoria Lombardi, along with sophomore Jordan Malloy, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year, highlight the returning Skyhawks at this year's Championships after earning All-NEC honors with their finishes a year ago. Lawrence finished fourth overall in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, in 18:12.8, while Lombardi was sixth in 18:29.8 and Molloy ninth in 18:38.9. Also earning NEC Championships experience in 2022 were sophomore Emily Young and senior Caroline Surrette.
Fifth-year Colin Black leads the returning NEC Championships participants on the men's side for Stonehill after posting a tenth place finish at in Western Pennsylvania last fall in 25:38.2 to earn All-NEC honors. Junior Jace Hollenbach placed 19th overall in 26:14.7, while senior Patrick Garrett finished 25th (26:32.7) and fifth-year Reilly Johnston rounded out the top 30 (26:47.1) a year ago. Rounding out the six returning NEC Championships participants are seniors Aidan Byrne and Connor Hughes.
The Stonehill men's and women's cross country programs combined to win 27 Northeast-10 Conference Championships under Hall of Fame head coach Karen Boen prior to elevating the programs to NCAA Division I status prior to the 2022 season. The women won an NE10 record 18 titles, including a record run of 11-straight from 2009 through 2019, while the men captured nine titles.
