University of Massachusets Athletics
N.E. Championships On The Docket For WXC
October 07, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 7, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass women's cross country team will head to Boston, Mass. this Saturday for the New England Championships. At the mid-point of the cross country season, the Minutewomen will look to build some momentum as the team heads into the Atlantic 10 Championships in three weeks. The race is set to kick off at 12:00 p.m. at Franklin Park.
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Minutewomen competed in the 37th annual Paul Short Invitational held in Bethlehem, Pa. UMass competed in the Gold Division, taking 32nd overall out of 41 teams. Junior Karen Roa paved the way with a time of 21:56 and a 79th place finish out of 366 runners. Elizabeth Fisk (22:41) and Courtney Baldwin (22:49) had respective finishes of 151 and 167.
The 2009 New Englands
At last year's New England Championships, Courtney Baldwin led UMass to a 14th place finish in the first cross country meet of her life. Baldwin placed 16th out of 322 runners with a time of 18:22, and would go on to lead the team over the final three meets of the season. Shiyi Zan (19:14) notched an 80th place finish while Lauren Stocker (19:16) placed 83rd.
Home Meet
UMass played host to four teams (Maine, Boston College, Vermont, Amherst) three weekends ago at the UMass Home Meet (9/18) with the Minutewomen taking fourth place with 78 points. Courtney Baldwin headlined the finishers for the second straight week, taking fifth place overall with a time of 17:58.
Senior Gina Perno grabbed a 12th place finish (18:18) while junior Karen Roa was close behind in 15th place at 18:24. Elizabeth Fisk (18:37) and Sarah Barrett (18:54) rounded out the top five finishers for UMass with respective 19th and 28th place finishes.
First Points
At the UMass Home Meet, freshman Sarah Barrett scored the first points in her UMass career by placing in the team's top five finishers. Barrett crossed at 18:54 which slotted her at 28th overall and fifth on the team.
Division I Debuts
At the B.C. Invite on Sept. 11, six UMass runners made their Division I Cross Country debuts: Sarah Barrett, Christine McNaughton, Caroline Conena, Melody Lam, Caprice Cappuci, Nicole Bishop.
Coaches Poll Results
According to the Atlantic 10 Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll released on Tuesday, October 5, (which can be accessed here) UMass dropped one spot in the rankings as the Minutewomen sit in seventh out of the 14 teams in the conference.