The Norwich women captured their second straight GNAC title on Saturday afternoon, while the Norwich men claimed their third in as many years and had seven of the top-eight finishers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Norwich Athletics Communications
Norwich sweeps GNAC Championships
for second straight year
BRISTOL, R.I. – For the second consecutive season, the Norwich University men's and women's cross country teams swept the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships meet, which was held on Saturday afternoon at Colt State Park in Bristol, R.I. This fall's annual event was hosted by Johnson & Wales University.
The Norwich men took first place with a score of just 18 points (15 is the possible minimum), besting second-place Emmanuel College by 50 points en route to their third consecutive GNAC crown and fourth in program history. The Cadet women posted a score of 57 to edge Simmons College by five points and claim their second consecutive GNAC title and third in the last four seasons.
Norwich junior Brody Hale (Naugatuck, Conn.) won the men's 8k race in 27:09 and was named GNAC Runner of the Year, while Norwich senior Haddie Lary (Randolph, Vt.) claimed first in the women's 5k race (19:18) en route to also earning GNAC Runner of the Year honors.
For the Cadets men, sophomore Adam Saucier (Massena, N.Y.) followed Hale in second place in 27:18. Fellow sophomores Jack McNally (Nokesville, Va.) (Fourth place, 27:51) and Ryan English (Frederick, Md.) (Fifth, 27:52) placed just behind Saucier. Freshman Trenton Shimata (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed sixth overall in 27:54 en route to being named GNAC Rookie of the Year, becoming the third consecutive NU runner to claim the award (McNally in 2016 and Korey Leonard in 2015). Senior Connor Lafontaine(Tolland, Conn.) (Seventh, 28:20) and junior Korey Leonard (Pembroke, Mass.)(Eighth, 28:44) rounded out Cadets in the top 10.
Head Coach Nick Cooper was also named the GNAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third time in his career (2013, 2015), while Simmons head coach Eric Ashe was voted the GNAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after the Sharks had a runner-up finish.
On the women's side, Emmanuel's Stephanie Forester was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year for her seventh-place finish. She was the top female rookie overall and garnered the final First Team All-Conference spot.
Next up for GNAC teams is the NCAA Division III New England Regionals, hosted by the University of Southern Maine, Saturday, November 11. The men's race is set for 11:00 a.m. with the women's contest slated for 12:00 p.m.
2017 MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-CONFERENCE
First-Team All-GNAC
Brody Hale, Norwich
Adam Saucier, Norwich
Patrick Carty, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Jack McNally, Norwich
Ryan English, Norwich
Trenton Shimata, Norwich
Connor Lafontaine, Norwich
Second-Team All-GNAC
Korey Leonard, Norwich
Erik Brobst, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Mike Flowers, Mount Ida
William Rapsas, Norwich
Jovan Sematimba, Regis (Mass.)
Christian De Boer, Norwich
Colter Sheveland, Norwich
Runner of the Year: Brody Hale, Norwich
Rookie of the Year: Trenton Shimata, Norwich
Coach of the Year: Nick Cooper, Norwich
Institutional Sportsmanship Award: Regis (Mass.)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Tim Austin, Anna Maria
Patrick Carty, Emmanuel
David Sherman, Johnson & Wales
Troy Gonsalves, Lasell
Derek Folish, Mount Ida
Connor Lafontaine, Norwich
Sean Toomey, Regis (Mass.)
Yash Jagtap, Rivier
Lucas Fisher, Saint Joseph's
Paulo Guedes, Suffolk
2017 WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-CONFERENCE
First-Team All-GNAC
Haddie Lary, Norwich
Emma Weisse, Suffolk
Molly Curtin, Regis (Mass.)
Magdalene Mann, Regis (Mass.)
Sarah Bohan, Simmons
Robyn Hageman, Norwich
Stephanie Forester, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Second-Team All-GNAC
Pearl Vercruysse, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Samantha Jaffe, Simmons
Mia Tompkins, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Allegra Egizi, Simmons
Maddie Boucias, Regis (Mass.)
Victoria Barlow, Johnson & Wales
Marisa Quirion, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Runner of the Year: Haddie Lary, Norwich
Rookie of the Year: Stephanie Forester, Emmanuel
Coach of the Year: Eric Ashe, Simmons
Institutional Sportsmanship Award: Norwich
All-Sportsmanship Team
Mackenzie Shurtleff, Anna Maria
Reilly Boyle, Emmanuel
Alison King, Johnson & Wales
Troy Gonsalves, Lasell
Shannon Hart, Lasell
Elizabeth Backer, Mount Ida
Melissa Hango, Norwich
Madison Boucias, Regis (Mass.)
Anna Pearsons, Rivier
Mia Tompkins, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Marisa Quirion, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Mary Coletti, Simmons
Michelle Kearney, Suffolk
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Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
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