ANOTHER ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADE!!-- Gill Becomes Fourth All-America Performer In School History And First Two-Sport All-America In Cross Country And Track In Leading 11th Ranked Men's Cross Country To 10th Place Team Finish At 2006 NCAA Division II National Championships
November 18, 2006
STONEHILL MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
2006 NCAA Division II National Championships
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Escambia County Equestrian Center, Pensacola, Fla.
PENSACOLA, Fla.-- The 11th-ranked Stonehill men's cross country team posted its highest finish ever at the NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday morning, as the Skyhawks finished 10th 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.
Junior Keith Gill (Brockton, Mass.) became the fourth All-America performer in Stonehill history by placing 27th individually, as he covered the 10K layout in a time of 30:26.6. Gill is also the first two-time All-America in Skyhawk cross country and track & field history, as he earned outdoor track All-America accolades this past spring in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Championships held in Emporia, Kan. Gill joins Mario Fraioli, Sean McKeon and junior teammate David Metzger (Ellington, Conn.) as the men's cross country All-America runners in Stonehill history.
After falling to fifth-ranked UMass Lowell in both the Northeast-10 and NCAA Northeast Regional championships in the last month, the Skyhawks outdistanced the River Hawks by a considerable margin in Saturday's national championship race, as Stonehill's 10th place finish came with a team score of 316 points while UMass Lowell finished 16th with a team score of 410 points. The Skyhawks' previous best team finish came in their inaugural appearance at the NCAA Championships in 2003 with a 12th place effort in Cary, N.C.
"Everyone was so determined today, and it showed in the final results," Stonehill Head Coach Karen Boen said following the men's race. "We knew going into the race that everyone would have to be at the best they had been at all year long, and they were. To finish in the top 10 nationally is a credit to their preparation over the last two weeks and throughout the season."
Junior Joe Ryan (Chelmsford, Mass.) followed Gill in the team scoring for Stonehill by placing 55th with a time of 31:18.3, while Metzger was next in 58th place with a time of 31:18.8. Senior Tim Catoggio (Bradford, Mass.) closed out his career by placing 72nd with a time of 31:39, while freshman Josh Andrews (Chelmsford, Mass.) rounded out the Skyhawk scoring by placing 104th with a time of 32:17. Sophomore Matt Meagher (Mansfield, Mass.) and junior Khalid Abdi (Brockton, Mass.) finished 108th and 109th, respectively, for Stonehill with times of 32:19 and 32.23 but did not figure into the final team scoring.
Abilene Christian captured the championship with a team score of 57 points to best runner-up Adams State (Colo.) by 13 points and third-place Western State (Colo.) by 56 points. Abilene Christian's Nicodemus Naimadu took the individual title for the third straight season with a time of 29:17.
Stonehill made its fourth straight appearance at the NCAA Division II national championships and finished as the top Northeast-10 Conference squad in the final team standings for the third time during that period.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Abilene Christian 57
2. Adams State 70
3. Western State 113
4. Chico State 137
5. Grand Valley State 168
6. Harding 192
7. Colorado Mines 207
8. Wayne State 249
9. Minnesota-Mankato 294
10. STONEHILL 316