NORTHFIELD, Vt. – At Saturday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Cross Country Championships, both the men's and women's programs turned in their best finishes since 2018 as the women's program finished in second place and the men's program placed fourth, in the GNAC Championship Meet, hosted at Norwich.
The runner-up finish for the women marks the best finish since they won the GNAC Championship in 2018. The men's finish is their best since taking third place in the same 2018 season.
Emmanuel's women's program was led by a pair of GNAC All-Conference Second Team runners, junior
Sydney Gonzalez and sophomore
Kendall Newton. The Saints junior captain finished in ninth place with a time of 25:40.9. Newton came across the line in 12
th position, completing the 6K championship course in 26:18.9.
The Saints final three counting scores all fell within the top-25 as first-years
Ava Purcaro and
Emma Braga finished in 18
th and 19
th place, respectively, with Purcaro finishing in 27:00.2 and Braga coming in exactly two seconds later. First-year
Caroline Abbott rounded out the counting scores in 25
th place, with her time of 27:17.8.
In the men's race, the Saints key to their best finish in six seasons was the team's ability to finish within 10 places of each other, all inside the top-25 spots. Sophomores
Nicholas Ware and
Luke Bullock led the charge, finishing their championship 8K's in 29:29.6 and 29:32.7, respectively, placing 16
th and 17
th on the day.
First-year
Alex Mazzarelli was next over the line for the Saints, finishing in 22
nd position after his race of 30:12.4. The Saints counting scores were finished off by first-year
Nathan Morgan and sophomore
Ryan Bausch who came in 24
th and 25 place, respectively, in times of 30:19.5 and 30:22.4.
The GNAC Women's Cross Country Championship went to Colby-Sawyer, led by four total GNAC All-Conference Runners, two finishing on the First Team and two more on the Second Team. The Chargers finished with 53 points, beating the Saints total by 30.
In the men's draw, the host side of Norwich claimed the GNAC Men's Championship after the Cadets five counting scores went from fourth to eighth place, giving them 30 points. Saint Joseph's of Maine and Colby-Sawyer finished on the podium in second and third, respectively.
The Saints finish up their campaign with the NCAA Division III East Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 16, hosted at Franklin Pierce in Rindge, N.H.
