Meet Results

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- With three of the top six finishers, the University of New England women's cross country team captured the 2012 Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, posting a team score of 38 Saturday (Oct. 27) afternoon at the 6,000-meter event hosted by Western New England University.

The title is UNE's first in cross country since joining the CCC in 1999.

The Nor'easters' team aggregate was nine better than second-place Salve Regina University, which had two runners in the Top 3. Roger Williams University was third with 64 total points.

Big Blue utilized its depth to take home the hardware. First-year Michaela Moran (Atkinson, N.H.), junior Colleen Ahern (Salem, Conn.) and sophomore Annelise Donahue (South Portland, Maine) placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, to earn all-conference accolades. Moran timed out at 23:37, Ahern at 23:46, and Donahue just five seconds later at 23:51.

Joining that trio on the all-conference team was sophomore Natalie Hardman (Kalona, Iowa) by virtue of her eighth-place finish. Hardman posted a time of 23:53 in perhaps the most impressive showing of her career.

Rounding out UNE's scoring runners was sophomore Erynn Edwards (Linden, Mich.), who placed 15th with a time of 24:37.

The individual champion was Roger Williams sophomore Hannah Zydanowicz. She topped the field of 108 by recording a time of 22:36.

In addition to placing four runners on the all-conference squad, UNE shared the CCC Team Sportsmanship Award with Salve Regina, and Nor'easters' head coach Ron Ouellette was named CCC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The Nor'easters return to action next Saturday (Nov. 3) at the ECAC Championship at Mount Greylock High School in Williamstown, Mass.


Click HERE to watch the post-race interview with Kim Hentz