The Lesley Women's Cross Country team will compete for the NCAA New England Regional title this weekend.  The Lynx will travel to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, Maine for a chance to keep their National Championships hopes alive.  Fifty-eight teams will compete in one of the most competitive regions in the country, with six of those teams ranked nationally.

The Lynx won their sixth consecutive NECC title two weeks ago after a dominating performance over the rest of the NECC competition.  The women claimed five out of the top eight finishes, including three of the top four.  Lesley finished with 22 points, comfortable ahead of second place Elms College, who finished with 66 points.

Lesley senior Leah Miller (Thomaston, Conn.) finished the 5K course in 18.48.13 minutes, finishing 1:32 ahead of second place finisher and teammate Ana Lutkevich (Mansfield, Mass.) to claim the individual title.  The finish earned Miller the 2013 NECC Runner of the Year. Miller's impressive time broke the team 5K record set by Keryn Thorvaldsen (18:49) in 2012. Joining Miller and Lutkevich at Regionals is Kat Vicino (Mattapoisset, Mass.), Jackie Rosa (Wolcott, Conn.), Emilia McGrath (Bowdoin, Me.), Elena Pereira (Wilmington, Vt.), and Abbie Coppinger (Moultonborough, N.H.).

The race will begin 11:00 am this Saturday, November 16th. The top two teams in each region will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, with the remaining slots in the championship field filled by at-large qualifiers.