BIDDEFORD, Maine- Coming off of stellar season debuts in which the women finished first out of nine teams at the RWU Invitational and the men finished fourth of nine, both squads continued their success as the women finished second at the UNE Invitational while the men finished fifth. For the women, the race consisted of 14 teams while the men's race had a 12 team field.
The women were led by senior Erin Haynes (Oakham, Mass.) who continued her stellar senior campaign, finishing 6th overall in a time of 19:03.4 to lead the Gulls to a second place finish on the 5k course. She was joined by junior Grace Brigham (Montpelier, Vt.) and freshman Elizabeth Vincent (Marshfield, Mass.) as top 20 performers as Brigham finished 18th in a time of 20:41.0 and Vincent finished 20th in a time of 20:48.9.
Sophomore Kiera Malone (Woburn, Mass.) and junior Holly Rigoli (Waltham, Mass.) rounded out the scoring as the pair finished 23rd and 24th overall in times of 20:59.1 and 21:10.6 to close out the scoring with all top 25 performances. Endicott's team score of 91 bested the third place team by nine points.
The men saw freshman Zach Marshall (Hinesburg, Vt.) lead the way for the second straight race and record another top five finish as he covered the extended 8k course in a time of 26:33.9 to finish fourth overall and lead the squad to a fifth place finish. Fellow freshman James Dwyer (Berlin, Conn.) also continued his impressive start, logging an 18th place finish in a time of 27:44.9, his second straight top 20 finish.
Senior Alex Walecka (North Dartmouth, Mass.) ran a fantastic race, crossing in 24th place overall in a time of 28:25. Sophomore Noah Mondello (Gloucester, Mass.) finished in 31st with a time of 28:39.6 while Donovan Shea (Brunswick, Maine) finished right behind him in 32nd with a time of 28:44.0 to round out the scoring for the Gulls. The 109 points earned by the Gulls placed them 43 points ahead of the next closest team.
Both squads return to action in two weeks as they travel to perennial power house Williams for the Purple Valley Classic in Williamstown, Mass. on the 27th.
