BRISTOL, R.I.- The 2014 season got off to a fantastic start for both cross country programs on Saturday, with the women recording a first place team finish as well as first place individual, and the men finishing fourth of nine teams in contention. Both teams have another week of preparation ahead before they travel to Biddeford, Maine for the UNE Invitational on Saturday.
For the men, freshman Zachary Marshall (Hinesberg, Vt.) debuted in style as he recorded a fifth place finish in his first collegiate race. Marshall was joined by James Dwyer (Berlin, Conn.), Alex Walecka (North Dartmouth, Mass.), Donovan Shea (Brunswick, Maine) and Kidder Spillane (Shelburne, Vt.) as runners that recorded scores to lift the Gulls to a fourth place team finish. Marshall finished in a time of 17:17 (5:33/mi.), just 23 seconds behind the overall winner. Dwyer's time of 18:04 (5:49/mi.) placed him 17th, with Walecka finishing in a time of 18:29 (5:56/mi.) in 24th. Shea and Spillane rounded out the scoring as Shea finished in 29th with a time of 18:55 (6:05/mi.) and Spillane in 36th with a time of 19:13 (6:11/mi.).
The Gulls score of 111 was just 10 points off of a top three finish and placed them 11 ahead of CCC rival Roger Williams.
Senior Erin Haynes (Oakham, Mass.) recorded her second career individual win by completing the 5k course in just 20:09. Haynes and her average mile of 6:29 led the way for the Gulls asGrace Brigham (Montpelier, Vt.), Kiera Malone (Woburn, Mass.) and Elizabeth Vincent (Marshfield, Mass.) all finished in the top 10 of 109 total runners from nine different schools. Brigham finished sixth overall with a time of 21:35 (6:56/mi), Malone in ninth at 21:39 (6:58/mi.) and Vincent right behind in 10th at 21:52 (7:02/mi.). Also scoring for the Gulls was senior Jocelyn Kane who finished 22nd with a time of 22:21 (7:11/mi.), which gave Endicott a final score of 48, more than 12 points lower than the second place score of 60 forBridgewater State. Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Roger Williams finished fourth with a score of 92.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as they travel to the University of New England (UNE) Invitational for a tough race.
