FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2015
Skyhawks Add to NE-10 Record with their 14th Team Title
The Stonehill women's program and the American International men's team claimed titles at today's Northeast-10 Conference Cross Country Championships.
MEN'S RECAP | FULL TEAM RESULTS | INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
COLCHESTER, Vt. – The American International men's cross country team repeated as Northeast-10 Champions behind a 1-2 finish (pictured) from junior John Chirchir and freshman Leakey Kipkosgei at Saint Michael's College Sunday morning.
For the full NE-10 team results, see below.
The Yellow Jackets registered 48 points and placed three runners inside the top-10 finishers. Stonehill came in second with 72 points, with Franklin Pierce, Southern New Hampshire and Bentley rounding out the top-five teams.
Chirchir and Kipkosgei finished together, running the 8k course in 24:55.9 and 24:56.0 respectively. Sophomore Mitchell Byrne was sixth and also earned All-Conference first team honors with a time of 25:22.5.
Head Coach Leo Mayo, who graduated the top three finishers from last year's NE-10 Championship, credits his young team sticking to the plan put in place in preseason.
"Coming into the season I knew we still had the talent to win and believed we could do it," said Mayo. "It was all about sticking to the plan set in place and believing in it."
Sophomore Kemani Hume and freshman Siem Mehretu rounded out the Jacket scoring, placing 16th and 23rd respectively.
"Kemani, Siem, Leakey and Mitchell believed in the plan and they executed the race strategy and we had a good day. They worked real hard and ran smart," said Mayo.
For American Int'l it is only their second conference crown and they will look to winning a third NCAA Division II East Regional Sunday, Nov. 8 and qualify as a team for nationals for a second straight season.
1. American International 48
2. Stonehill 72
3. Franklin Pierce 81
4. Southern New Hampshire 110
5. Bentley 115
6. Merrimack 150
7. Adelphi 177
8. Southern Connecticut 204
9. Saint Rose 234
10. Saint Michael's 296
11. Le Moyne 318
12. Assumption 335
13. New Haven 391
14. Saint Anselm 441
15. Pace 478
WOMEN'S RECAP | FULL TEAM RESULTS | INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
COLCHESTER, Vt. - For the seventh straight time and the 14th time in program history, Stonehill claimed the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Cross Country Championship title on Sunday afternoon in Colchester, Vermont, hosted by Saint Michael's College.
Stonehill scored 23 points to earn its seventh-straight conference championship with all seven of its runners finishing inside the top-25 of the race. Bentley tallied 116 points to finish as runners-up, while Assumption ranked third (126). American International was fourth (140) and Merrimack finished fifth (143) to round out the top-five.
Stonehill dominated the field Sunday afternoon, placing five runners in the top eight. Junior Nicole Borofski, pictured, led the way for the Skyhawks, completing the course in 21:48.8, 43 seconds faster than the runner up and the only female competitor to run a sub 6:00 mile. Borofski is the first individual women's NE-10 Champion since Meghan Shannahan in 2002.
Junior Aisha McAdams finished runner up to Borofski, posting a time of 22:32.0. McAdams earned first team All-Conference honors for the second time in her career, finishing in seventh place her freshman year.
Freshman Makenzie Cyr turned in the best performance of her young career, finishing fifth and landing on the All-NE-10 first team after posting a time of 22:44.1 on the six-kilometer course.
Junior Alexandra Buonfiglio and freshman Elizabeth Hannon were the next two Skyhawks to finish, earning times of 22:47.5 and 22:50.3, respectively, good for 7th and 8th place. Buonfiglio, who earned an All-NE-10 second team nod last year, collects first team honors while Hannon takes home second team honors.
Junior Alexandra Grimaldo barely missed All-Conference honors, finishing in 23rd with a time of 23:52.8. Freshman Jillian Caiazzi finished directly after Grimaldo, clocking in at 23:54.5.
The Skyhawks have been a dominant force over the past 16 years of the event, winning 14 titles in 16 tries. The only two years Stonehill did not finish first - 2005 and 2008 - the Skyhawks posted runner-up efforts.
The Skyhawks will next be in action at the East Region Championships, which will take place on Sunday, November 8th at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.
1. Stonehill 23
2. Bentley 116
3. Assumption 126
4. American International 140
5. Merrimack 143
6. Adelphi 200
7. Le Moyne 221
8. New Haven 256
9. Southern New Hampshire 259
10. Southern Connecticut 271
11. Saint Anselm 274
12. Franklin Pierce 279
13. Saint Rose 282
14. Pace 320
15. Saint Michael's 347
Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staffs at American International and Stonehill.
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 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 Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
