Men's recap
WATERFORD, CT – Junior Max Bulger (Falmouth, ME) crossed the finish line first for Lesley University to capture the individual title at the New England Collegiate Conference Men's Cross Country Championships, while leading the Lynx to both the men's team crown at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, CT.
Lesley's men took four of the five top spots to score 17 points to easily outdistance Southern Vermont College's total of 61 in the eight-kilometer race for its fifth straight NECC title. Mitchell College finished third with 67 points, while Newbury College turned in a fourth-place showing with 110 points to edge out fifth-place finisher Daniel Webster College by five points.
Bulger took the men's race with a time of 27:51 to best senior teammate Andrew Scott (Brattleboro, VT) by 13 seconds and was named the NECC Runner of the Year for the men. Lesley's Dan Flynn was named the NECC Coach of the Year for the men and Elms College received the Team Sportsmanship Award for both the men's and women's squads.
Scott was the second of three runners to turn in the top times in the men's race for Lesley. Freshman Nick Green (Stoughton, MA) placed third with a mark of 28:14 and was named the NECC Rookie of the Year.
Southern Vermont College freshman Joshua Ceasar (Bardstown, KY) broke up the Lesley theme, coming in fourth with a time of 28:34, while sophomore Evan Reseska (Holliston, MA) clocked in at 29:12 to place fifth for the Lynx. Two of his Lesley teammates were right behind him, placing sixth and seventh respectively. Junior Chris Conforti (Brattleboro, VT) turned in a mark of 30:12 and freshman Ian Barber (Westhampton, MA) crossed the finish with a time of 30:53. Mitchell College freshman Spencer Daniel (Litchfield, CT) and junior Andrew Castagna (Westerly, RI) placed eighth (30:59) and ninth (31:12), respectively, while sophomore Victor Velasquez (Los Angeles, CA) rounded out the top 10 with a time of 31:16 for Southern Vermont.
Women's recap
WATERFORD, CT – Lesley senior Keryn Thorvaldsen (Sayville, NY) crossed the finish line first for Lesley University to capture the individual title at the New England Collegiate Conference Women's Cross Country Championships, while leading the Lynx to their fifth women's team crowns today at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, CT.
Lesley's women earned the first four places in the five-kilometer race, en-route to a score of 16 points to best Mitchell's total of 71 points. Elms finished third with 79 points, while Southern Vermont was right behind with 86 points. Bay Path College scored 133 points to place fifth and Newbury placed sixth with 140 points.
Thorvaldsen's time of 19:25 topped junior teammate and defending champion Leah Miller (Thomaston, CT) by 36 seconds to capture the women's crown and the NECC Runner of the Year award. Todd Peretz from Mitchell was selected as the NECC women's Coach of the Year.
Miller clocked in at 20:01, while NECC Rookie of the Year honoree Emilia McGrath (Bowdoin, ME) placed third with a time of 21:16 for Lesley, which was just seconds better than junior teammate Jacqueline Rosa's (Wolcott, CT) fourth-place effort. Southern Vermont freshman Alica Lala (Biddeford, ME) prevented Lesley's bid for a perfect score with a time of 21:29 for a fifth-place showing, while two-time NECC champ Noa Kupfer (Woodbridge, CT) finished sixth with a mark of 21:42 in her final season for Lesley.
A trio of freshmen crossed the line next with Haley Omasta (Danbury, CT) placing seventh for Southern Vermont with a time of 21:56, while Mitchell's Sheilah Newcity (Stonington, CT) turned in a time of 22:14 followed three seconds later by Lesley's Elena Pereira (Wilmington, VT) in ninth place. Elms junior Devon DeGrazia (Westport, MA) pulled in at 22:35 to place 10th for the women.
All-NECC honorees
Men:
Men's Runner of the Year
Max Bulger, Lesley
Men's Rookie of the Year
Nick Green, Lesley
Men's Coach of the Year
Dan Flynn, Lesley
Men's Team Sportsmanship
Elms College
Men's All-Conference First Team
Max Bulger, Lesley
Andy Scott, Lesley
Nick Green, Lesley
Joshua Ceasar, Southern Vermont
Evan Reseka, Lesley
Men's All-Conference Second Team
Chris Conforti, Lesley
Ian Barber, Lesley
Spencer Daniel, Mitchell
Andrew Castagna, Mitchell
Victor Velazquez, Southern Vermont
Women:
Women's Runner of the Year
Keryn Thorvaldsen, Lesley
Women's Rookie of the Year
Emilia McGrath, Lesley
Women's Coach of the Year
Todd Peretz, Mitchell College
Women's Team Sportsmanship
Elms College
Women's All-Conference First Team
Keryn Thorvaldsen, Lesley
Leah Miller, Lesley
Emilia McGrath, Lesley
Jackie Rosa, Lesley
Alice Lala, Southern Vermont
Women's All-Conference Second Team
Noa Kupfer, Lesley
Haley Omasta, Southern Vermont
Sheilah Newcity, Mitchell
Elena Pereira, Lesley
Devon DeGrazia, Elms
Courtesy: Robb Modica, NECC