Knox wins individual title
WESTFIELD, Mass. (October 22, 2017) – The Stonehill College women's cross country team, ranked 23rd in the nation and first in the East Region in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Division II poll, won its ninth-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship and 16th title in program history Sunday afternoon at Stanley Park.
The Skyhawks scored 39 points for its ninth-straight conference championship in dominating fashion with all seven runners finishing in the top 21, making All-Conference teams. Stonehill just merely beat out Assumption College, as the Greyhounds totaled 41 points with five of its runners in the top 21. Merrimack College finished third with 157 points, while Le Moyne College (169 points) and American International College (165 points) rounded out the top five teams.
The Stonehill women's cross country team dominated the course Sunday afternoon, placing three runners in the top 10. The Skyhawks also saw Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) capture the program's third-straight individual title, which Nicole Borofski '17 won back-to-back years previously. This is the fourth time in conference history that a school has won the individual title three-straight years, with Springfield leading the way with six-straight individual titles spanning from 1987-92.
Senior Knox led the team with her first cross country All-Conference first team honor. Knox finished first among the field of 141 competitors with a time of 21:37.02, 12 seconds in front of second place.
Junior Makenzie Cyr (Douglas, Massachusetts/Douglas) picked up her second cross country first team All-Conference honor, taking third place with a time of 22:00.01. Senior Abby Hersom (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside) was the next Skyhawk across the finish line taking ninth place with a time of 22:24.08. Hersom was named to the All-Conference second team for her first cross country honor.
Sophia Anderle (Peabody, Massachusetts/Peabody Veterans Memorial) was the first freshman to cross the finish line in the six-kilometer race clocking in at 22:31.85, good for 12th place. Sophomore Alyssa Freeman (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica Memorial) was close behind finishing with a time of 22:34.31, good for 14th place. Both Anderle and Freeman earned their first All-Conference second team honor.
Sam Curtin (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) and Anna Lastra (Bridgton, Maine/Fryeburg Academy) were runners six and seven for the Skyhawks, placing 19th and 21st, respectively. Curtin finished with a time of 22:47.17, while Lastra clocked in at 22:58.96. Both were placed on the All-Conference third team.
Kelly Higgins (Weymouth, Massachusetts/Weymouth) was the next Skyhawk across the finish as she just finished shy of an All-Conference mark, placing 22nd with a time of 23:00.02 in her first conference championship. Elizabeth Hannon (Franklin, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) was close behind with a time of 23:02.53, good for 24th place.
Junior Jackie Cutillo (Foxboro, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) bested her mark from last years' championship, as the junior placed 26th with a time of 23:05.21. Classmate Isabel Baker (Charlestown, Rhode Island/Chariho) placed 31st in her second conference championship with a time of 23:21.27, which was followed by a 32nd-place finish from sophomore Jordan Callahan (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) with a time of 23:22.28.
Senior Julie Schultz (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica) placed 46th with a time of 23:48.91, while junior Taylor Landers (North Andover, Massachusetts/Pingree Education) finished 64th with a time of 24:22.05.
Stonehill will take some time off, as it prepares for the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship, hosted by Daemen College in Amherst, New York on Saturday, November 4.
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