Men's cross country ties for 12th for best regionals finish since 2006, women 12th
BOSTON, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College men's and women's cross country teams completed their seasons on Sunday at the NCAA East Regional Championships, where the women took 12th and the men tied for 12th in Franklin Park. The Purple Knight men posted their best showing since 2006.
The women competed in a 27-team field topped by Stonehill College, which notched 57 points. Saint Michael's totaled 307 points, coming within five of Wilmington (Del.) University. Sophomore Gabrielle Naranja (Fort Kent, Maine/Fort Kent Community) placed 15th in a time of 23:23, completing the six-kilometer course 18 seconds faster than she did last fall. Naranja posted the same time as a Stonehill runner and was six seconds short of the top 10. Freshman Lindy Heffernan (Sutton Mills, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) was 49th in 24:27.
The next two Saint Michael's runners also finished in the top half of the 183-runner pack. Senior Caitlin Ferland (Vergennes, Vt./Vergennes Union/Bay Path) took 71st in 25:00, trimming three seconds off of last year's time while moving up three placements. Freshman Colleen Gilliatt (Grantham, N.H./Lebanon) was 78th in 25:11.
During her first regional championship, senior Elyse Desmarais (South Hadley, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) clocked in at 25:47 as the fifth Purple Knight to finish. Freshmen Allie Gratton (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) and Sarah Stowell (Sutton Mills, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) completed the course in 26:32 and 26:35, respectively.
The Saint Michael's men matched the University of New Haven for 12th, collecting 372 points in the 25-team field. The University of Massachusetts at Lowell won the meet with 71 points. In his third season competing for the Purple Knights, senior Matt Smith (Winchester, Mass./Winchester/Muhlenberg) had his best regionals showing during his third appearance, taking 57th in 34:05 during the 10-kilometer race.
Senior Tom Perekslis (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) also had his best regionals outing during his fourth time participating, crossing the finish line in 34:28 to take 72nd in the 178-runner field. Sophomore Dana Glubiak (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) was 80th in 34:43, and freshman Alex Gilgore (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville Senior) was 84th at 34:53.
Junior Colin Delaney (Lake Placid, N.Y./National Sports Academy) took 87th in 35:00, and senior Robert Sitzer (Lenox, Mass./Lenox Memorial) was one second behind, finishing 88th at 35:01 while cutting 59 seconds off of his 2010 performance. Sophomore Sam Brigham (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier) was the seventh member of his team to finish, at 35:26.
