CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Boston University cross country squad had a strong showing at the New England Championships on Sunday, as junior Monica Adler captured first place in the women's race and classmate Rich Peters finished second on the men's side. Both harriers netted America East cross country Performer of the Week honors, marking the fourth time this year that a pair of teammates have been honored in the same week.
With her victory, Adler (Manchester, Mass.) became the second female Terrier in as many years to win at the New England Championships. More importantly for Adler, her victory against 250 other runners marked the first of her collegiate career. Adler paced the field with a time of 17:00.79, which was almost six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Her victory propelled Boston U. to a seventh place finish out of 37, second best among America East squads. This is the first time Adler has been named Performer of the Week.
In just his second race of the season, Peters (Bristol, England) was the runner-up in the men's 8k race, registering a time of 24:21.04. This marks the second time this season that Peters has been honored as the America East Performer of the Week, the previous time after his victory at the New Hampshire Invitational. Peters was the only America East runner to finish in the top 20, as he helped the Terriers to a fourth place finish on Sunday, tops among the conference.
Hartford, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont also ran in the New England Championships this weekend, with the Catamount women posting the best performance among America East squads. Led by senior Kirsten Weberg (East Aurora, N.Y.) and her fourth place finish in the women's 5k race, Vermont finished second out of 37 schools, placing each of its top five runners in the top 20. Rounding out the women's results, New Hampshire took 15th, Hartford was 17th and Maine finished 20th. For the men, New Hampshire (20th), Maine (22nd), Vermont (24th) and Hartford (26th) all trailed Boston U.
All the America East schools will be running this weekend, with the big action coming at the Pre-National meet Saturday in Louisville, Ky. Albany, Boston U, Maine and New Hampshire will all be there, with just two weeks until the America East Championship. Other Saturday action includes Binghamton, UMBC and Stony Brook running in the Princeton Invitational and Hartford at the Father O'Neill Invite. Vermont will run on Friday in a meet at St. Michael's.
2012 America East Cross Country Performers of the Week
Sept. 5 -- Men: Daniel Denis (Stony Brook); Women: Annie Keown (Stony Brook)
Sept. 11 -- Men: Kelton Cullenberg (Maine); Women: Corey Conner (Maine)
Sept. 18 -- Men: Rich Peters (Boston U.); Women: Corey Conner (Maine)
Sept. 25 -- Men: Kelton Cullenberg (Maine); Women: Corey Conner (Maine)
Oct. 2 -- Men: Matt Paulson (Boston U.); Women: Laura Rose Donegan (New Hampshire)
Oct. 9 -- Men: Rich Peters (Boston U.); Women: Monica Adler (Boston U.)