Cross Country Squads Start Season at Shacklette Invitational
submitted by Dominick Delello
Athletic Communications Intern
Saint Michael’s College
The Saint Michael’s College men’s and women’s cross country teams kicked off the 2018 season at Saint Anselm College’s 37th annual Shacklette Invitational on Saturday with fifth-place finishes in both races.
The Saint Michael’s women’s team finished with 116 points in the 5K, finishing only six points behind fourth-place Bentley University, which finished last season ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region poll. Junior Abby French (Nashua, N.H./Academy of Notre Dame) notched the seventh top-10 finish of her career, ending the race in seventh place with a time of 20:06. First-year Hannah Muse (Yarmouth, Mass./Nauset Regional) finished 28th with a time of 21:31 in her first collegiate competition while senior Emily Calder (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton) finished close behind with a time of 21:58, good for 28th overall. First-year Eleanor Devereux (Jericho, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union) finished 40th with a time of 22:15, clocking in six seconds ahead of senior Kara Hettinger (Lindenhurst, Ill./Saint Joseph Catholic Academy), who came in 43rd while clocking in at 22:21. First-years Alexus Day (Belmont, N.H./Belmont) and Rachel Smith (Old Forge, N.Y./Town of Webb) finished on each other’s heels with times of 22:30 and 22:31, respectively, notching them 46th and 47th places. Less than a minute separated the number two through seven scorers for the Purple Knights while seven of the top 10 finishers for the women were first-years.
The Saint Michael’s men finished with 133 points in the 8K, 17 points behind host and fourth-place finisher Saint Anselm. First-year Liam Gay-Killeen (Rowley, Mass./Triton Regional) finished 23rd with a time of 28:43 in his first collegiate competition. Junior Kevin Jeter (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) finished 34th with a time of 29:50. Senior Nathan Terry (Reading, Mass./Tilton School) clocked in at 30:39 giving him 42nd place overall. First-years John Cunningham (Springfield, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) and James Downs (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) finished with matching times at 30:43, landing them 43rd and 44th places, respectively. Senior David Baird (Higganum, Conn./Haddam-Killingworth) and first-year Matt Gianni (Stowe, Vt./Stowe) rounded out the scoring with times of 31:11 and 31:22, respectively, good for 46th and 47th places. Six of the men’s top nine finishers were first-years.
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