New Hampshire Women, Stony Brook Men Win 2017 #AEXC Championships
ST. ALBANS, Vt. – For the fifth consecutive season, the New Hampshire women’s cross country team won the America East Cross Country Championship. The Wildcats had the top two finishers in the women’s race as well as five runners in the top 15, to finish with a total of 37 points. On the men’s side, Stony Brook triumphed for the second time in as many years. Cameron Avery led the way with a second-place finish and was one of four Seawolves to finish in the top-ten, helping earn a total of 40 points, the lowest total by an America East champion since 2009.
New Hampshire senior Elinor Purrier defended her individual crown, finishing well ahead of the pack in the women’s race with a time of 16:45.82. The Montgomery, Vermont native finished her illustrious America East cross country career having won three of the past four individual championships. She is just the second women in league history to win three individual titles joining Boston University's Christina Steif (1991, 93, 94).
UMass Lowell senior Paul Hogan won his first career individual title, finishing more than 31 seconds ahead of the pack. After redshirting in 2016, Hogan had the best personal finish of his career at this year's championship. He has finished in the top four in every cross country championship in which he has competed.
Hogan was joined on the All-Conference first team as finishers 1-7 by teammates Thomas Teachen and Christopher Alfond, Stony Brook's Cameron Avery, Vann Moffett, Maine's Aaron Willingham and New Hampshire's Timothy Kenefick. Albany's Kyle Gronostaj led the second-team All-Conference honorees of finishers 8-14 along with fellow Great Dane Ryan Udvadia and the Seawolves'.Nick Cruz, Daniel Connolly, Kyle Kelly, Bryce Hedman and Chris Biondi
Named to the women's All-Conference first team were New Hampshire's Purrier and Shannon Murdock, Stony Brook's Annika Sisson, Alexandria Ortega and Tiana Guevara, UMass Lowell's Kathryn Loughnane and Albany's Hannah Reinhardt. The River Hawks' Allie Morris headed up the second-team All-Conference selections along with teammate Alli Wood, New Hampshire's Alyson Messina, Riley Gilmore and Margaret Champagne, Albany's Cara Sherman and Vermont's Anna Kapan.
Kaplan and Gronostaj earned the Elite 18 awards, which are given to event medalists with the highest GPA.
UMass Lowell freshman Emily Sessa was named Most Outstanding Rookie after finishing 27th overall, helping the River Hawks earn second place as a team.
Binghamton freshman Dan Schaffer finished 16th overall in his first career conference championship and was also named Most Outstanding Rookie.
The New Hampshire Wildcats, led by Head Coach Robert Hoppler, and the Stony Brook Seawolves, led by Head Coach Andy Ronan, each received the Coaching Staff of the Year award on the men’s side.
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