Merrimack Cross Country Set for 2012 NE-10 Championships
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After last competing in the New England Championships on Oct. 7, the Merrimack men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 20, in Syracuse, N.Y., on the campus of Le Moyne College.
The Warriors, who have competed in five previous events in the fall entering Saturday's showdown, will be looking to set new program highs in the conference tournament. The men's best recent performance came back in the fall of 2008, when they finished in fourth place as a team. The women, meanwhile, saw their best performance in recent memory come last fall, a fourth-place finish.
Both the men and the women will be looking to unseat reigning conference champion Stonehill, who claimed the title on both sides last season. The Skyhawks' women's team – ranked 12th in the country as of the most recent USTFCCCA National Rankings – has won each of the last three NE-10 crowns, and has also claimed the title in five of the last six and 10 of the last 12 years overall.
The men's event has been won either by Stonehill or UMass-Lowell for the last 11 seasons. While it was the Skyhawks taking home the hardware in 2011, the River Hawks have claimed seven championships during that span compared to five for Stonehill.
In what has evolved to be the theme of this fall's success, the Warrior men will likely rely on underclassmen Nick Christensen (Peabody, Mass.) and Sherif Ali (Cliffside Park, N.J.), a duo that has propelled the team through four events this season. Both have earned top-10 finishes in three events this fall – including an individual victory for Christensen at the Rivier Invitational on Sept. 21. Senior captain John Lawrence (Peabody, Mass.) has also posted a pair of top-10 finishes in 2012.
On the women's side, rookie runner Kerry Phelan (Peabody, Mass.) has seen plenty of success this fall, earning NE-10 Rookie of the Week honors twice en route to breaking a school record and posting the best time for an NE-10 runner in the New England Championships on Oct. 7. Senior Anne Bajor (Methuen, Mass.) boasts a top-five finish this season, as well.
The Northeast-10 will provide updates on Twitter (@TheNortheast10) throughout the day's events. The conference's website (northeast10.org) will also feature expanded coverage of the 2012 Cross Country Championships, as well.
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