Westfield State Claims 11th Straight MASCAC Women's Cross Country Championship
The Westfield State women’s cross country team has collected their 11th straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship crown after finishing first at the MASCAC/New England Alliance Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
MASCAC Results | Alliance Results
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Westfield State women's cross country team has collected their 11th straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship crown after finishing first at the 2014 MASCAC/New England Alliance Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
The Owls finished with 28 points over runner-up Bridgewater State with 52 points. Framingham State and Worcester State finished in third and fourth with two points separating the two squads at 97 and 99 points, respectively. Fitchburg State was in fifth with 109 points while Salem State finished sixth with 182 points. Rounding out the MASCAC squads were Massachusetts Maritime and MCLA in seventh and eighth with 212 and 220 points, respectively.
Westfield State freshman Jessie Cardin was the top MASCAC finisher with a 5k time of 19:01.56. Her second place overall finish earned her both MASCAC Runner and Rookie of the Year as well as All-Conference honors. Joining Cardin from the Owls were Ashley Monahan (20:42.05) in fourth, Megan Erickson (20:44.74) and Jennifer Asci (20:53.11) in sixth and seventh and Sam Hurley (21:07.47) in 10th to all earn All-Conference accolades.
Bridgewater State finished with two runners in the top 10 to take home All-Conference awards. Jacey Peers crossed the line in 20:42.36, well enough for fifth while teammate Krysta Zbikowski came in eighth with a time of 20:53.45.
Erin Beccia of Worcester State was the top finisher for the Lancers with a second place time of 20:25.85 while Haley Chamberlain of Framingham State was next in third with a time of 20:34.71. Closing out the top 10 MASCAC finishers was Nicole Gaffney who came in ninth with a time of 21:02.96.
Framingham State head coach Scott VanderMolen was chosen by his peers as the Champion's Choice Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after helping lead his team to a fourth place team finish.
Keene State took home the New England Alliance title with 22 points while Westfield State was right behind in second place.