University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Minuteman Invitational
Cross Country Excels On Home Course
September 17, 2011 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 17, 2011
Results |
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AMHERST, Mass. - The sun was shining and the fields full of fans for the Minuteman Invitational on Saturday morning. The Minutemen placed second as a team in a field of six squads, scoring 48 points, while the Minutewomen tallied 99 points and took home fourth place among five rival opponents. Of note, the home course for UMass was shortened due to flooding from Hurricane Irene. As a result the length of the course run was 4.3 miles accounting for the very fast times on the official results, which still listed the course length as 5.0 miles.
Leading the way for the UMass harriers were Karen Roa for the women and familiar face Sean Duncan (Gardner, Mass.) for the men. Duncan was cleared to compete just a few days prior to the Minuteman Invite. Roa placed fourth overall in 17:37.01, marking the second consecutive week that the Jamaica, N.Y. native has led UMass while placing in the top ten overall. Duncan wasted no time returning to the line-up as he placed third overall with a time of 22:16.91.
Following the Roa and Duncan duo were Patrick McAllister (Framingham, Mass.) and Antony Taylor (Arlington, Mass.) for the Minutemen, and Rachel Hilliard (Hookstown, Pa.) and Danielle McNiff (Hingham, Mass.) for the Minutewomen. The male twosome placed ninth and tenth respectively with times of 22:54.79 and 22:55.68, while the female contingent set times of 19:05.34 and 19:07.16 taking home 25th and 26th overall.
Rounding out the top five finishers for each side were Sarah Barrett (Topsfield, Mass.) and Colleen Wetherbee (West Yarmouth, Mass.) for Julie LaFreniere's squad, and Patrick McGowan (Mansfield, Mass.) and John O'Shea (Dracut, Mass.) for Ken O'Brien's team. The women placed 30th and 39th with marks of 19:17.53 and 19:41.26, while the men took home ninth and 15th by crossing the line at 22:55.68 and 23:10.93.
Both squads have a week of rest in the making before heading to the highly competitive Paul Short Invitational in Pennsylvania on September 30.
