Blazer Women Claim 2018 NECC Cross Country Championship; Men 3rd

Blazer Women Claim 2018 NECC Cross Country Championship; Men 3rd

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Dean men and Elms College women took home New England Collegiate Conference cross country titles on Sunday at the championship race at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.

Each of Dean's top five runners finished in the top 20 in the men's race, led by a third place finish by  Ryan Glynn (Abington, Mass.), who ran the 8k course in 29:46. Ross Rubin (Annandale, Va.) finished sixth in 29:58 and Yurly Buttrick (Georgetown, Mass.) came in eighth in 30:22 to round out three top-10 finishers for the Bulldogs.

Southern Vermont finished second in the men's race led by a second-place performance from Caldwell Holden (Weare, N.H.), who finished in 29:27. Davante Smith (Ellenville, N.Y.) also finished in the top five for SVC taking fifth in 29:55. Mountaineer head coach Jarrett Blankenship was voted the NECC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after the meet.

Elms College took third in the men's race led by NECC Rookie of the Year Ricky Elmer (Chicopee, Mass.) who took fourth individually in 29:50. Donald Cianciolo added a 12th-place finish for the Blazers, finishing in 31:40. The Blazers were followed by Newbury in fourth place, led by a 10-place individual finish from Geralson Withrow (Mystic, Conn.) who finished in 31:16.

Mitchell's David Still (New London, Conn.) claimed NECC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year honors after winning the men's race in 28:39. Still was the only men's runner to break 29 minutes on the 8k course and finished 48 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. The Mariners finished fifth as a team.

Four Blazer women finished in the top 12 of the 40-woman race to lead Elms to the championship. Tyana Medina (Springfield, Mass.) led the Elms pack with a fourth-place individual finish, running the 5k course in 22:14. Emily Guillerault (East Granby, Conn.) took sixth in 22:26, Keara Moulton (Ashburnham, Mass.) finished 10th in 23:12 and Julia Trezza (Wilbraham, Mass.) took 12th in 23:23. First-year coach Jill Bigos earned NECC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year recognition for her efforts.

Lesley finished second in the women's team standings with three runners in the top 10. Nicole Footer took second for the Lynx in 21:34 while Anne Cooper (Harvard, Mass.) finished fifth in 22:17 and Kayla Ranere (Danbury, Conn.) finished seventh in 22:44.

Newbury took third, led by an eighth-place performance from Averie Greeley (Ledyard, Conn.) who ran in 22:51. The nighthawks were followed by Eastern Nazarene, which boasted the NECC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year Rodelina Kingsley, who won the women's race in 21:10. Kingsley also claimed Rookie of the Year honors among NECC women.

Bay Path finished fifth, highlighted by a third-place individual finish from Briana Serrato, followed by Mitchell and Dean.

NECC Women's Cross Country All-Conference Performers:
Runner of the Year: Rodelina Kingsley (Eastern Nazarene)
Rookie of the Year: Rodelina Kingsley (Eastern Nazarene)
Coach of the Year: Jill Bigos (Elms)

First-Team
Kayla Ranere – Lesley
Emily Guillerault – Elms
Anne Cooper – Lesley
Tyana Medina – Elms
Briana Serrao – Bay Path
Nicole Footer – Lesley
Rodelina Kingsley – Eastern Nazarene

Second-Team
Hamido Hassan – Newbury
Mary Jok – Newbury
Julia Trezza – Elms
Shakira Henriquez – Newbury
Keara Moulton – Elms
Kathryn McCormack – Mitchell
Averie Greeley – Newbury

Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Megan McKenna – Bay Path
Nicole Romero – Dean
Rodelina Kingsley – Eastern Nazarene
Emily Guillerault – Elms
Nicole Footer – Lesley
Victoria Shalko – Mitchell
Dominic Thoroughgood – New England College
Shakira Henriquez – Newbury
Maddy Main – Southern Vermont

NECC Men's Cross Country All-Conference Performers:
Runner of the Year: David Still (Mitchell)
Rookie of the Year: Ricky Elmer (Elms)
Coach of the Year: Jarrett Blankenship (Southern Vermont)

First-Team
Mark Garceau – Mitchell
Ross Rubin – Dean
Davante Smith – Southern Vermont
Ricky Elmer – Elms
Ryan Glynn – Dean
Caldwell Holden – Southern Vermont
David Still – Mitchell

Second-Team
Robert Gorman – Eastern Nazarene
John LaMagna – Dean
Donald Cianciolo – Elms
David Naghton – New England College
Geralson Winthrow – Newbury
Ben Wiggin – New England College

Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Sebastian Wisnevesky – Dean
Kevin Rodriguez – Eastern Nazarene
Rich Hernandez – Elms
Mike Flemming – Lesley
Evan Crystal – Mitchell
David Naghton – New England College
Geralson Withrow – Newbury
Davante Smith – Southern Vermont