MADISON, CT - Sophomore Michelle Gaye set a Marist women's cross country record for 6,000 meters, leading the Red Foxes to a 17th place finish out of 38 teams at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, held Friday afternoon at Hammonasset Beach State Park. The 17th place team finish, with 562 points, was a six place improvement over 2011, when Marist placed 23rd at the regional championship with 653 points.
Gaye placed 69th overall in 21:28.1, eclipsing Kiersten Anderson's 2010 mark of 21:29.6, which was set on the same course and in the same meet. Freshman Kristen Traub also cracked the top-100 in scoring with a time of 21:43.7, good for 82nd place. Rounding out the scoring pack were senior captain Katie Messina (107th, 22:09.0), freshman Christine Coughlin (140th, 22:39.8) and freshman Nicolette Nesi (165th, 23:07.7).
"The women ran with a lot of heart and pride out there today,'' Marist Director of Cross Country/Track Pete Colaizzo said. "Michelle led the way, but they all worked together and made a quantum leap from last year's regional race.''
The Red Foxes conclude the 2012 season on Saturday at the ECAC Championships, held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
NCAA Northeast Regional
Friday, November 9, 2012
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Madison, CT
Women's team scores
1-Providence 46, 2-Connecticut 67, 3-Cornell 118, 4-Harvard 150, 5-Boston College 150, 6-Syracuse 167, 7-Yale 215, 8-Brown 223, 9-Columbia 226, 10-Dartmouth 234, 11-Stony Brook 330, 12-Vermont 355, 13-New Hampshire 367, 14-Albany 432, 15-Buffalo 517, 16-Sacred Heart 525, 17-Marist 562, 18-Boston University 571, 19-Iona 578, 20-Quinnipiac 587, 21-Army 629, 22-UMass 648, 23-Bryant 676, 24-Hartford 731, 25-Colgate 736, 26-Fordham and Binghamton 748, 28-Fairfield 763, 29-Maine 779, 30-Central Connecticut 806, 31-Holy Cross 851, 32-Canisius 885, 33-St. John's 956, 34-Northeastern 1040, 35-Manhattan 1044, 36-Hofstra 1076, 37-St. Bonaventure 1078, 39-Holy Cross INC
Women's individual results
6,000-meter course
69-Michelle Gaye 21:28.1 *school record
82-Kristen Traub 21:43.7
107-Katie Messina 22:09.0
140-Christine Coughlin 22:39.8
165-Nicki Nesi 23:07.7
198-Rebecca Denise 23:34.2
204-Erin Thompson 23:44.7
