NE10 40th Anniversary Home Page

Karen Boen, a 2019 inductee to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame, built the men’s and women’s cross country and track & field programs into the premier power in the Northeast-10 Conference and East Region. Boen is entering her 24^th year at Stonehill, taking over first as head coach of the women’s cross country and track & field teams in 1997, men’s track & field in 1999 and men’s cross country later in the fall.

The most successful head coach Stonehill has known, Boen has led six programs to a combined 40 NE10 Championships, including 18 women’s cross country and nine men’s cross country titles, seven women’s NE10 indoor track & field championships, five outdoor titles and one men’s indoor crown. Stonehill women’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field programs have combined to win the last 14 NE10 Championships in those sports, and 19 of the last 20 NE10 titles overall, sweeping the three seasons four-straight years from 2015-2019 and including the most recent 2020 Indoor Championship where she was the distance coach for the track & field team.  

Boen, the first NE10 coach inducted to the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, was first named to the Stonehill Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. She has collected an incredible 66 Coach of the Year Awards from the NE10 and USTFCCCA over her illustrious career, 41 of which have been earned in men’s and women’s cross country, including 23 NE10 honors and 18 East Region accolades.

Boen, featured in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated in 2017, has combined to win 27 NE10 Championships for the men’s and women’s cross country teams, including each of the last 11 titles on the women’s side, 21 NCAA Division II East Region Championships, including five on the men’s side. The programs have combined to reach the NCAA Division II Championships a combined 37 times, including 20-straight trips for the women and 17-straight for the men.

Boen has coached a combined 77 All-Americans over her career, which includes 64 in men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field and 13 in men’s and women’s cross country. Six-time All-American Corey Thomas ’13 won the 2011 Indoor High Jump national championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while Nicole Borofski ’16, finished her career as the College’s most-decorated student-athlete, with nine All-America honors. Borofski is the lone cross country student-athlete to earn All-America honors twice, including her program-best 19^th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships.

Borofski also won NE10 Cross Country Championships in 2015 and 2016, kick-starting a run of four-straight individual titles for Stonehill. Emily Knox ’18 and Anna Lastra ’20 followed suit in 2017 and 2018, respectively, giving the Skyhawks six NE10 women’s individual championships under Boen. Borofski added back-to-back NCAA Division II East Region titles, followed by Knox in 2017 and then current senior, Sam Curtin, in 2019, marking four East Region individual titles over the last five years.

Boen’s programs have also produced in the classroom, with 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 53 CoSIDA Academic All-District, 17 NE10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence recipients, and 149 Academic All-Conference selections across the six programs. Alex Demeule ’19 was honored with NE10 Man of the Year at the conclusion of his All-America career at the College.

Following the 2018-19 academic year, Boen stepped down as the men’s and women’s track and field head coach, remaining as the men’s and women’s cross country head coach, while assisting new track & field head coach Michael Delgado with the men’s and women’s distance runners.

Karen Boen Links of Note:

• Stonehill Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field Continue NE10 Title Dominance
• Boen Inducted into USTFCCCA Hall of Fame
• Stonehill Announces Track & Field Coaching Changes
• Stonehill Holds 26^th Annual Hall of Fame Ceremony
• Boen Featured in SI’s “Faces in the Crowd”
• Boen Tabbed USTFCCCA Cross Country East Region Women’s Coach of the Year
• Boen Named NE10 Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
• NE10 Champions! Women’s Cross Country Wins 18^th Championship

ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete. 

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.