First Team All-GNAC Performances Pace Pride at League Championships
BOSTON – Led by a combined three First Team All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) performances, Regis College finished third in the women's team event and fourth in the men's team competition Saturday at the 2021 GNAC Cross Country Championships at muddy Franklin Park.
Ashleigh Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) led the Pride women, crossing the finish line third in the six-kilometer event with a time of 24:30. Erin Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) also earned First Team All-GNAC honors with a seventh place finish, posting a time of 25:16.
Lizzy Melvin (Southington, Conn.) finished in 20th place with a collegiate-best six-kilometer time of 27:52, followed by Libby Parker (Bow, N.H.) exactly a minute later in 28th place at 28:52, also a collegiate-best time.
Annabelle Jean-Philippe (Randolph, Mass.) cut almost a full minute off the time she ran on the exact same course two weeks ago, completing the course in 30:02 to finish in 33rd place. Lydia Miller (Bradford, Mass.) finished in 39th place with a time of 31:10, ahead of Katie Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) in 49th place with a collegiate-best time of 32:26.
As a team, the women finished in third place with 87 points. Colby-Sawyer won the conference championship with 52 points, followed by Simmons with 72 points, and India Jones of Norwich took the individual title with a time of 24:01.
Benjamin Happenny (Woonsocket, R.I.) collected another First Team All-GNAC award for the Pride with a sixth place finish in the men's eight-kilometer race in 29:47. Zach Sigman (Buffalo, N.Y.) crossed the finish line in 23rd place in 31:58, just ahead of Gustavo Novelle-Ruddy (Boston, Mass.) in 24th place with a time of 32:05.
Two more Regis runners entered the finish chute back-to-back, as Michael Carroll (Lynn, Mass.) took 37th place in 33:30, followed by AJ Corso (Broad Brook, Conn.) in 38th place in 33:55. Brett Kiesel (Rocky Hill, Conn.) ended up in 46th place in 35:27, ahead of Ben O'Neal (New Britain, Conn.) in 57th place with a time of 39:15.
As a team, the men finished in fourth place with 106 points. Led by individual medalist Dylan Flewelling with a time of 28:04, Colby-Sawyer took the team title with 44 points, just in front of runner-up Norwich with 49 points.
Parker and Novelle-Ruddy represent their respective teams on the GNAC Cross Country All-Sportsmanship Teams.
Regis College will return to Franklin Park one more time for the NCAA Division III East Regional, hosted by Suffolk University Saturday, Nov. 13. The men's eight-kilometer race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women's six-kilometer event at 12 p.m.