BRISTOL, R.I. - The men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships this past week in Bristol, Rhode Island at Colt State Park and the top runners from each team finished in the top 20 overall.
Fran Cusick (Lexington, Mass.) raced in his final race of the 2008 season and blew away other New England Collegiate Conference competition as he crossed the finish line in 20th place overall. He finished 32 spots and 34 seconds ahead of the next NECC finisher with a time of 27:18. Cusick averaged 5:30 minutes per mile in the 8K race.
Charlotte Goff (Osterville, Mass.) finished in 19th place overall finisher with a time of 24:35 over 6K. The sophomore averaged 6:36 minutes per mile.
Both Cusick and Goff finished just out of individual medal contention which was handed out to the top 15 runners from each race.
"This was Fran's last race of the season and he left it all out there," commented Head Coach Dan Flynn. "Fran accomplished some personal goals during this race including coming in the top 20 of the ECAC. This is a testament to hard work and determination. Fran was able to reestablish himself as the strongest runner in the NECC beating all of the other NECC runners at Colt State Park. Watch out for him next year."
The men's team placed 37th out of 48 teams with a score of 992. Williams College (64) repeated as champions and were followed by Keene State (100), Middlebury (144), Oneonta (146), and Vassar (183).
The women's team (587) bested more than half of the field earning 19th place. Williams College (23) joined their male counterparts as ECAC champions followed by Amherst (75), Middlebury (104), Connecticut College (217), and Bates (228).
"The women finished in the upper half of teams for the ECAC. We have really legitimized our program by performing in large meets. Our goal is to break the Top 30 teams in the NCAA Regionals next week. Charlotte continues to show Division III that she is one of the top runners out there. She finished in the top 20 of the ECAC and crushed all of her regular competitors from UNE and Johnson and Wales. It was good to see that as we move towards our most important race."
Lesley will next race at the NCAA Regional Cross Country Championship on November 15. The women's race will start at 11 am and the men's race will start at 12 pm.
To learn more about the Lesley University men's and women's cross country teams, please visit their website.
Contact:
Rob Palardy
Sports Information Director
Lesley University
617.349.8627 (office)
617.349.8640 (fax)
rpalardy@lesley.edu