Stonehill captains accept the NE-10 Championship trophy for the sixth straight year. (PHOTO BY Jim Stankiewicz) |
Skyhawks claim 13th conference championship in program history
RINDGE, N.H. (November 9, 2014) – Led by sophomore Nicole Borofski's (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) second-place finish, the Stonehill College women's cross country team, ranked No. 24 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II poll, and ranked second in the East Region, captured its sixth consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Championship this morning at the Gates Farm Course on the campus of host school Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire.
With its win today, Stonehill becomes the all-time winningest program in Northeast-10 Conference women's cross country history. The Skyhawks 13 titles surpasses the mark of 12 set by Springfield College in 1994 and matched by Stonehill last season.
Borofski, the 2013 NE-10 Rookie of the Year, posted her second-place finish in 24:43.0 to earn All-Conference first team honors. The sophomore earned a spot on the second team last fall after placing ninth and clocking in at 18:47.
Freshman Julie Schultz (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica) turned in the best performance of her young career today, finishing eighth and landing on the All-NE-10 second team after posting a time of 25:39.7 on the six-kilometer course.
Sophomore Aisha McAdams (North Kingstown, Rhode Island/North Kingstown), who earned All-Conference first team honors as a freshman last season, placed tenth today and clocked in at 25:40.7 to earn All-NE-10 second team accolades.
Sophomore Nicole Borofski placed second overall to pace the Skyhawks to the title. (PHOTO BY Jim Stankiewicz) |
Sophomore Alexandra Buonfiglio (Lynnfield, Massachusetts/Lynnfield) and freshman Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) were the next two Skyhawks to finish, earning times of 25:55.8 and 25:56.7, respectively, good for 12th and 13th place. Buonfiglio, who just missed earning All-NE-10 honors last season with a 24th-place finish, collected a second team nod today along with Knox, who has been recognized by the NE-10 twice this fall with Rookie of the Week accolades.
Seniors Brittany Venturo (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle & Cassidy) and Emily Anderson (Manchester, Connecticut/Manchester), who have both earned All-NE-10 honors in past conference championship races, accomplished the feat again today by finishing 17th and 18th, respectively. Venturo earned a time of 26:11.5, while Anderson clocked in at 26:14.6. Anderson has now posted a pair of third team efforts after doing so as a sophomore in 2012, while Venturo registered a second team finish last fall. The two seniors were the last of seven Skyhawks to earn All-Conference honors today. Saint Michael's College had the second highest number of All-NE-10 performers, with four.
Stonehill took the team title today with 45 points, while Saint Michael's finished second with 64 points. Assumption College (138 points) placed third, followed by Merrimack College (150 points) and Southern New Hampshire University (178 points). American International College sophomore Pascaline Jerotich won the individual championship with a time of 23:59.2
Stonehill head coach Karen Boen attributed her team's success to the depth it possesses from top to bottom. "I thought some of our young women ran very well," Boen said. "A couple didn't have their best days, but I was thankful for our depth. Our depth carried us today."
Junior Molly Hellman (Rumson, New Jersey/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) was the eighth Skyhawk to complete today's course, doing so in 27:11.6, good for 29th overall.
Rounding out Stonehill's entries was the duo of freshman Abby Hersom (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside) and Madison McGlone (Bellmore, New York/John F. Kennedy). Hersom placed 71st and clocked in at 28:45.0, while McGlone earned a time of 29:49.3, good for 99th overall.
Stonehill will be off next weekend before attempting to win its sixth consecutive East Region Championship on Saturday, November 22nd at Mine Falls Park in Nashua, New Hampshire.
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