Story courtesy of Chris Attwood, Elms College Sports Information Director
CHICOPEE, MA - Lesley University men's runner Fran
Cusick (Lexington, MA) and women's runner Noa
Kupfer (Woodbridge, CT) earned top individual honors, as
the Lynx finished first in both the men's 8-kilometer and women's
5-kilometer races in Saturday morning's New England Collegiate
Conference (NECC) Championships at Chicopee State Park.
Cusick finished the course in 27:43 and was named 2009 NECC Runner
of the Year. All five of his scoring teammates finished in the top
12 to pace the Lynx to a team score of 36. John Hoffman (Bala
Cynwyd, PA) of Mitchell finished second overall with a time of
29:14, while Newbury's Gabriel Nunez (Jersey City, NJ) clocked a
time of 29:27 to finish third and earn league Rookie of the Year
honors.
On the women's side, Kupfer registerd a time of 20:19 en route to
claiming Runner of the Year honors. All five of Lesley's scoring
runners crossed the finish line in the top 10, powering the Lynx to
an overall score of 17. Kupfer, a freshman, also garnered Rookie of
the Year honors. Teammates Elize McKelvey (Baltimore,
OH) and Elissa May (Middleboro, MA)
finished second and third in the race, collecting times of 21:25
and 21:51 respectively.
For the men, following Lesley's top team score of 17 was Mitchell
(42), Daniel Webster (72), Newbury (79), and Southern Vermont (113)
to close out the five-team field.
For the women, Lesley earned top honors, followed by a two-way tie
for second place between Newbury and Wheelock who each tallied 70
points. Mitchell followed in fourth with 119, Southern Vermont
scored 124, and Daniel Webster rounded out the six-team field with
137.
Elms College junior Alycia Dabrowski (Chicopee, MA) finished sixth
overall in a time of 22:29 to lead the Blazers' women, while
Brendan Warren (Arlington, MA) crossed the line first for Elms on
the men's side in a time of 35:15 to place 14th overall.
Lesley head coach Dan Flynn earned men's coach of the year honors,
while Joe McConkey of Newbury notched coach of the year honors on
the women's side. Elms earned team sportsmanship honors on the
men's side, while Southern Vermont claimed the accolade on the
women's side.
2009 NECC Men's Cross Country Team Champion
Lesley
2009 NECC Men's Cross Country Team Runner's-Up
Mitchell
2009 NECC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year
Fran Cusick, Lesley (27:43)
2009 NECC Men's Cross Country Rookie of the Year
Gabriel Nunez, Newbury (29:27)
2009 NECC Men's Cross Country First-Team All Conference
1. Fran Cusick, Lesley
2. John Hoffman, Mitchell
3. Gabriel Nunez, Newbury
4. Eric Appleby, Mitchell
5. Chris Laplante, Daniel Webster
2009 NECC Men's Cross Country Second-Team All Conference
6. Brian Axelrod, Lesley
7. Dillon Simmons, Lesley
8. Jonathan Kodsi, Mitchell
9. Vernon Wilson, Mitchell
10. Matthew Hunt, Lesley
2009 NECC Women's Cross Country Team Champion
Lesley
2009 NECC Women's Cross Country Team Runner's-Up
Newbury, Wheelock
2009 NECC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year
Noa Kupfer, Lesley (20:19)
2009 NECC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year
Noa Kupfer, Lesley (20:19)
2009 NECC Women's Cross Country First-Team All Conference
1. Noa Kupfer, Lesley
2. Elize McKelvey, Lesley
3. Elissa May, Lesley
4. Brittany Smyth, Mitchell
5. Jasmine Cuevas, Lesley
2009 NECC Women's Cross Country Second-Team All Conference
6. Alycia Dabrowski, Elms
7. Karen Thorvaldsen, Lesley
8. Solange Thomas, Newbury
9. Elise Huebner, Lesley
10. Katharine Needham, Wheelock