Elmer Takes Top Spot At NECC Championships
Westfield, MA - The men's 8,000 meter race was the first of the day with the start-time temperature hovering in the high 40's. Ricky Elmer (Chicopee, MA) topped his fourth-place finish from a year ago to earn the 2019 NECC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year, easily finishing first overall at 27:43; it took 1:13 for the next competitor to come across the line.
The Blazers would have four runners finish in the top 15 spots. Elmer would take the top spot, Rich Hernandez (North Branford, CT) would have a strong race and finish in 10th. Donald Cianciola (Waterbury, CT) and Brendan Curley (Chicopee, MA) would finish 12th and 14th respectively.
Mitchell College freshman Evan Carney (North Franklin, Conn.) earned the 2019 NECC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year award as he finished fourth overall with a time of 29:57. He was the first of two freshman Mariners to place in the top five with classmate John Mateo (Groton, Conn.) following at 30:06.
Second overall was Eastern Nazarene College sophomore Robert Gorman (Ellington, Conn.) who crossed with a mark of 28:56, and Dean's top finisher was senior Ross Rubin (Annandale, Va.)—coming in at third with a 29:18.
Despite the Bulldogs having only one runner in the top five, Dean was able to take the top spot in the team standings by claiming the sixth, seventh, ninth, and 16th individual placements. DC tallied 41 points to Eastern Nazarene's 53, and Elms was right behind the Lions with 58. ENC and the Blazers each saw four runners land in the top 14 to earn all-NECC honors.
2019 NECC Men's Cross Country All-First Team
1) Ricky Elmer, So. / Elms
2) Robert Gorman, So. / Eastern Nazarene
3) Ross Rubin, Sr. / Dean
4) Evan Carney, Fr. / Mitchell
5) John Mateo, Fr. / Mitchell
6) Robert Shelley, So. / Dean
7)Yuriy Buttrick, So / Dean
2019 NECC Men's Cross Country All-Second Team
8) Ryan Polsgrove, Fr. / Eastern Nazarene
9) Matt Alport, Jr. / Dean
10) Rich Hernandez, Sr. / Elms
11) Kevin Rodrigues, Jr. / Eastern Nazarene
12) Donald Cianciola, Jr. / Elms
13) Kyandre Martinez, Jr. / Eastern Nazarene
14) Brendan Curley, Jr. / Elms
2019 NECC Men's Cross Country Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Hunter White, Dean
Ryan Polsgrove, Eastern Nazarene
Daniel O'Melia, Elms
Vladimir Mendoza, Lesley
Evan Carney, Mitchell
David Naughton, New England College
