Former Pembroke and current RPI Cross-country runner Robert LaMarre, will be keeping track of our College Roundup section every tuesday.
Paul Short Invitational
This past Friday we saw several of Massachusetts's top collegiate teams head down to Bethlehem PA for Lehigh’s 39th Annual Paul Short Run. The field was huge, with over 100 squads competing across three races on both the men and women’s side.
In the Women’s Gold race, the Harvard women were tops for Mass, finishing in 13th place. The Crimson were led by the sophomore trio of Morgan Kelly, Viviana Hanley (Bishop Feehan), and Alaina Alvarez, all of whom posted top 70 finishes. The men, meanwhile, showcased their depth; they also earned a 13th place finish despite sitting their varsity squad. Kurt Ruegg and Thomas Purnell both rose to the occasion, running 24:37 and 24:52, respectively, in their first race of the season.
Senior Mat Paulson
Also representing Beantown were Boston University and Boston College, who finished a scant 7 points apart on the men’s side. Although BC senior Jordan Hamm was able to edge BU’sMatt Paulson at the line, it was ultimately the Terriers that came out on top, finishing in 15th. The Terrier women finished in 26th, paced by a 40th place finish from junior Monica Adler (Beverly).
A little further down in the team scores, one can observe the perennial rivalry between DII East powerhouses UMass Lowell and Stonehill. UML featured a strong 1-2 punch from seniors Jeff Veiga (Lowell) and Eric McDonald (Pentucket Regional), who placed 19th and 84th. However, Stonehill’s depth prevailed. Junior Paul Cina (Pembroke) led a pack of six Skyhawks who finished uner 26 minutes, bringing them a 21st place finish. Lowell finished in 26th. On the women’s side, senior captain Caroline McBride(North Reading) led all of Stonehill’s top five to a personal best over 6k. The team finished 28th overall. Senior Kelly Walton (Swampscott) led the UML women to a 32nd place finish in the brown race.
Sophomore John Cicchitti
Also in the brown race, a 10th place finish from John Cicchitti propelled Holy Cross to a 15th place posting. The women finished in 37th in the gold race, led by junior Emily Hughes (Milton). In gold as well were the women of UMass Amherst, who finished in 34th with a 35 second 1-7 spread. The Minutewomen were led by junior Sarah Barrett (Masconomet).
The Amherst College men ventured down to Bethlehem for the gold race. Although the team result may not have been what they were hoping for, the Lord Jeff’s saw a very strong performance from sophomore Greg Turissini, who time of 25:20 was third of DIII harriers. Amherst was ranked at US#25 in the latest DIII USTFCCCA poll.
Dellinger Invite
Junior Pat McGowan
For the first time in program history, the University of Massachusetts- Amherst men hit the west coast last Saturday for the University of Oregon’s Dellinger Invite. The team finished 8th of 10 in a field led by national powerhouse BYU (ranked US#3 in the latest USTFCCCA poll). Juniors Patrick McGowan (Mansfield) and Antony Taylor (Arlington) were the Minutemen’s top two finishers, running times of 24:36 and 24:54.