BRUNSWICK, Maine- Just one week after finishing second at the UNE Invitational, the Endicott women's cross country team finished third at the 10 team Bowdoin Invitational, finishing behind just regional powers Colby and Bowdoin with a team score of 104.

The Gulls were led again by rookie Abigail Keim (Williston, Vt.) who continues to impress in her first season of collegiate running.  Keim finished in 11th place, posting a time of 24:28.2 on the 6k course in a field of 116 runners. Fellow freshman Samantha Pearl (Concord, N.H.), and junior Kelly O'Neill (Cumberland, R.I.) finished back-to-back in 18th and 19th places overall, in times of 24:43.3 and 24:46.0, respectively.  Both Pearl and O'Neill have now recorded top-20 finishes in two straight races.

Showcasing the talent and youth of the Endicott roster, freshman Lauren Tocci (Shamong, N.J.) finished 33rd overall in a time of 25:10.1 while classmate Maeve Kelly (Washingtonville, N.Y.) was close behind, crossing in 36th place with a time of 25:32.9 to close out the Endicott scoring.

INSIDE THE TIMES

• The course length of 6k was the first time that the Endicott women have run that distance this season as all other courses have been 5k to date.
• Keim has now finished as the top Endicott runner in every race this season while Pearl and O'Neill have posted top-20 finishes in back-to-back weeks.
• After not factoring into the scoring in the team's last race at the UNE Invitational, freshman Lauren Tocci came on strong, improving her showing by six places in the longer distance.

TOP QUOTE

Head coach Spencer Lange was elated with how the women finished in such a difficult race.  "I couldn't be happier with how the ladies ran today," stated Lange. "They put themselves out there and ran an aggressive race against strong competition. As the race developed they held their spots and worked together. This was the first 6k for the top 5 runners and most them ran a PR trough the 5k mark which is always a positive to see. They were thrilled to compete with these competitive teams and continue to develop experience and confidence going forward. Overall, theres's still a lot of work to be done but we are in a good spot right now."

WHAT'S NEXT

The Gulls have two weeks to prepare for the James Early Invitational on October 10 in Westfield, Mass. against yet another deep field. 

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