Cross Country Set for NCAA Regionals Sunday
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Looking to earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, the Merrimack men's and women's cross country teams will take to the course and compete in the NCAA East Regional Championships on Sunday, Nov. 4, at Mine Falls Park in Nashua, N.H.
Both sides are coming off an extended break after last competing in the Northeast-10 Championships two weeks ago. The Warrior women raced to a sixth-place finish in the field of 16 teams in that race on Oct. 20 in Syracuse, N.Y., while the men finished in eighth overall.
Last fall, the men's side raced to an 11th-place finish with a cumulative time of 2:52:32, while the women posted a cumulative time of 2:02:37 en route to finishing in eighth place overall. The women also managed to finish ahead of conference foes AIC and Southern Connecticut, who placed 9th and 10th in the race.
Two weeks ago in the conference championships, the Merrimack women saw a pair of top-20 finishes from sophomore Kelsey Grimmer (Shelton, Conn.) and freshman Kerry Phelan (Peabody, Mass.),while the latter received NE-10 Female Rookie of the Year honors after posting a 15th-place finish. Just ahead of her was Grimmer, who notched an 11th-place finish and was named to the All-Conference NE-10 Second Team. Phelan, meanwhile, was named to the all-league third team.
On the men's side, freshman Nick Christensen (Peabody, Mass.) led the Warriors with a team-best time of 27.09.8 in the eight-kilometer race in the conference championships, while classmate Aaron Maurais (Hopedale, Mass.) helped the team finish in eighth overall, as both posted top-40 times. Christensen led the pack and finished in 34thoverall, while Maurais raced to a time of 27.19.9, good for a 39th-place finish.
Live results and video can be found online and will be updated as the race progresses. The men's 10K race starts at 12 p.m., and the women's 8K race is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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