Skyhawks aim to best 10^th place result at last year's championship

New England Championship Information

EASTON, Mass. (October 5, 2018) – The Stonehill College women's cross country team, ranked first in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) East Regional poll and 24^th in the National will return to action this Saturday, October 6 at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The women's sub varsity event will start at 11:00 a.m., followed by the women's varsity race at 11:45 a.m., and the men's varsity will kick off at 12:30 p.m. and the men's sub varsity at 1:15 p.m.

This year, the women have posted two top-five results out of the two meets that they have participated in. Stonehill earned its fifth place at the Shawn M. Nassaney Invitational in Smithfield, Rhode Island, as three Skyhawks finished in the top-25 competitors out of 99. The next weekend, the women's squad took on the Kutztown Division II/III Challenge in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, where nine Skyhawks placed in the top-20 of the 104 competitors.

Senior co-captain Makenzie Cyr will compete in her fourth New England Championship, as she saw her best result last season placing 32^nd. The senior led the Skyhawks at the Nassaney Invitational with a 22^nd-place finish, while also crossing the finish line fourth at the Division II/III Challenge.

Junior Alyssa Freeman has also competed in as many New England Championships as she has been at Stonehill. She helped Stonehill to its fifth-place finish with her 24^th-place mark, while crossing the finish line eighth in the most recent meet in Pennsylvania. Classmate Anna Lastra follows Freeman in racing in her third New England Championship, as she clocked in a time of 23:53.1 this season, good for seventh place at the Division II/III Challenge.

Curtin led the Skyhawks at the Division II/III Challenge with her runner-up finish

Sophomore Sam Curtin competes in her second Championship, as she placed 58^th last year with a time of 19:11.5. She has competed in both meets this season and led the Skyhawks at the Division II/III Challenge finishing as the runner-up with a time of 23:44.2 in the six-kilometer course.

Three freshmen will make their first appearance at the New England Championships, including Siobhan O'Keefe, Isabella Kennedy, and Rebecca Erhard. O'Keefe made her collegiate debut at the Nassaney Invitational and finished 36^th and then placed ninth at the Division II/III Challenge the following weekend. Kennedy made her debut at the Nassaney Invitational clocking in a time of 19:08.7 at the five-kilometer race, good for 30^th place. Erhard competed in both meets thus far taking home 38^th at the Nassaney Invitational and her first top-five result, with a third-place mark at the Division II/III Challenge.  

Following the New England Championships, Stonehill will travel to Hopkinton, New Hampshire to take a run on the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in the Sixth Annual Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup, hosted by Franklin Pierce University on Saturday, October 20.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.