BOSTON, Mass.-  The Endicott cross country programs had one final tune up before the postseason commences on Friday as the teams ran in the 2014 Emmanuel Saints Invitational at Franklin Park.  With the CCC Championships just two weeks away, both teams ran well with the women finishing fifth out of 17 teams and the men finishing ninth out of 20.  Both teams will now have two weeks to prepare for the postseason gauntlet that comes throughout the month of November, starting with the CCC Championships on Saturday, November 1^st, at Gordon in Wenham, Mass.

Once again leading the women throughout the race was senior Erin Haynes (Oakham, Mass.) as she traversed the 5k course in 19:36, putting her in fifth place and earning five points.  Her time was her second best of the season, just off her 19:03.4 time at the UNE Invitational.  In second place for the Gulls was Grace Brigham (Montpelier, Vt.) who finished 20^th overall while earning 18 points.  Her time of 21:28 was her third fastest of the season, just behind her second best time of 21:19 that she recorded in the team's last race at Keene State. Rounding out the top three for the Endicott was junior Holly Rigoli (Waltham, Mass.) who also finished with her third best time of the season, crossing in 22:08.  Her time placed her 34^th overall and earned 32 points for the team.

Freshman Elizabeth Vincent (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior Jocelyn Kane (East Longmeadow, Mass.) rounded out the scoring for the Gulls, finishing in 36^th and 41^st place overall, receiving 34 and 39 points respectively.  Vincent crossed the finish in a time of 22:12 while Kane was just behind, closing in a time of 22:31.  As a team, the Gulls finished fifth and posted a team score of 128, just one point behind Norwich (127) and 7 behind host Emmanuel (121).  Wheaton was the team winner, posting a score of 30.

For the men, Zachary Marshall (Hinesburg, Vt.) continued his outstanding freshman campaign, finishing the 8k race in eighth place overall in a time of 27:37 while earning eight points for the team score.  The eighth place finish was Marshall's third top-10 finish of the season as he also accomplished the feat at both the UNE and RWU Invitationals.  His time of 27:37 was also his second best 8k time on the season. Rounding out the top three for the Gulls were Noah Mondello (Gloucester, Mass.) and James Dwyer (Berlin, Conn.) who finished in 31^st and 38^th place respectively.  Both runners posted their second best 8k times of the season, with Mondello finishing in 28:58 while Dwyer crossed in a time of 29:04.

Freshman Grant McAuliffe (Londonderry, N.H.) and senior Alex Walecka (North Dartmouth, Mass.) closed the top five for the Gulls as McAuliffe finished 64^th with a time of 29:51 while Walecka finished 71^st with a time of 30:04.  For McAuliffe, it was just the second race of his freshman year as he posted a time two minutes better than his time at the Purple Valley Classic while Walecka's time of 30:04 was his third best 8k to date.

Both teams will now have two weeks to prepare for the postseason stretch that comes throughout the month of November, starting with the CCC Championships on Saturday, November 1^st, at Gordon in Wenham, Mass.  From there, the Gulls will compete in the ECAC Championships at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass. on November 8^th before heading to the NCAA New England Regionals at the Mount Greylock High School in Williamstown, Mass. on the 15^th of November. Endicott will look to show well and qualify for the NCAA Championships in Mason, Ohio on Saturday the 22^nd.