Wellesley Cross Country Races at NEWMAC Championship This Weekend
WELLESLEY, Mass. – The 2012 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) cross country championship will be held this Saturday, October 27 at Smith College, with a men's eight-kilometer race and a five-kilometer women's race. MIT comes in to the meet as the defending champion on both the men's and women's side but will face stiff challenges from all of the NEWMAC squads.
On the women's side, MIT comes into the meet as the No. 1 ranked team in Division III. The Engineers have a pair of invite wins and one second-place team finish so far this fall and will look to capture the NEWMAC title for the sixth year in a row. MIT had 10 all-conference runners last year, seven of whom are returning.
Two-time, reigning NEWMAC Runner of the Year, Randelle Boots (Seekonk, Mass.), returns for Wellesley College. The Blue, who have finished second at each of the past three championships, have had a pair of runners earn weekly honors this season in first-years Priyanka Fouda (Wellesley, Mass.) and Laura Brindley (Mercer Island, Wash.). The Blue have four team wins this season, with two other top-three finishes. Wellesley senior Ada Smith (Stoughton, Wisc.) and Fouda have been the team's top finishers in four of seven meets.
Coast Guard, the last team to win the conference title before MIT's recent run, was third in 2011. Beth Gollin (Oneonta, N.Y.) earned all-conference honors in her NEWMAC championship debut with an eighth-place finish last year.
The host Smith College Pioneers have had a pair of Runner of the Week honorees this year. Junior Kylee Drugan-Eppich (Madbury, N.H.) was the top overall finisher at the Smith Invitational earlier this fall on the same championship course. Danielle Opatovsky (Shoreham, N.Y.) has also garnered conference weekly recognition this season.
Springfield earned fifth-place at last year's NEWMAC championship, placing three runners in the top 40 overall. Sophomore Nora Letendre (Northampton, Mass.) is the top returning finisher for the Pride.
Babson will be led by sophomore Marina Capalbo (Gainesville, Va.), who has three event victories so far this year and has earned a pair of earned Runner of the Week honors. The Beavers will also receive a boost from senior captain Charlotte Margel (Ridgewood, N.J.), the team's top runner in each of the past three seasons, who will make her season debut on Saturday.
Mount Holyoke College took seventh overall a year ago. First year Elizabeth DeLeon (Boise, Idaho) has had an impressive rookie campaign for the Lyons, with a pair of top 10 finishes already to her credit.
Two-time all-conference performer, Vicky Hewey (Sanford, Maine), returns for WPI after missing the 2011 championship. Hewey, who was 10th in 2009 and 14th in 2010, was completing an Interactive Qualifying Project in Cape Town, South Africa during the fall of 2011.
Clark will be led by senior Erika Roth (Saco, Maine), who has been the Cougars top performer this fall. Roth has a pair of top 10 finishes this fall and will look to continue to improve her time at Smith on Saturday, in what will be her fifth career race on the course. Roth has improved her time in each of the previous four races on the track.
Wheaton has had a successful fall campaign, earning top three team finishes in three meets, including a win at the Tri-State Open at the end of September. A pair of freshmen, Jordan Silva (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Georgia Crane (Greenwich, Conn.), have led the way for the Lyons this year and will be making their NEWMAC championship debuts on Saturday.
The MIT men have won 14-straight league titles, dating back to the inception of the conference in 1998. Three all-conference performers from 2011 return for the Engineers, led by reigning NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, Allen Leung (Arcadia, Calif.).
Springfield College had four all-conference honorees a year ago, en route to a runner-up finish. Senior Anthony Salvucci (Burlington, Mass.), who has been named the NEWMAC Runner of the Week three times this year, leads the way for the Pride.
Coast Guard Academy took third place at least year's championship. Junior Gary Ezzo (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is the runner to watch for the Bears. Ezzo earned all-conference honors for Coast Guard as a sophomore and was named the NEWMAC Runner of the Week earlier this year, after taking eighth overall at the James Early Invitational.
Coming off a fourth-place finish last year, the Babson College men have already captured team titles at three events this fall. Sophomore Mark Gulesian (Miami, Fla.) has a pair of first-place finishes this season and was an all-conference performer during his rookie campaign.
WPI is no stranger to the host course at Smith, as the Engineers earned first place at the Smith Invitational event in September. Junior Dominic Gonzalez (Lowell, Mass.) was the top performer for the Engineers at last year's NEWMAC meet, finishing 23rd overall.
Wheaton College will look to improve on its sixth-place finish from a year ago. The Lyons are led by sophomore Harry Bachrach (Watertown, Mass.), who was named the conference Runner of the Week on October 1 after a fifth-place showing at the Tri-State Open.
Clark University is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Western New England Invitational two weeks ago. Junior Nathan Buck (Portland, Maine) and freshman John Allard (Smithfield, R.I.) led the way for Clark at the invite with third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.
The men's race will kick things off on Saturday, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The women's race will follow at noon. Fans can follow the NEWMAC official Twitter account, @NEWMACsports, for updates throughout the meet. Full results and all-conference performers will be available at www.newmacsports.com following the conclusion of the championship.
Preview courtesy NEWMAC Office