BRISTOL, R.I.- The Endicott women's cross country team competed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship this Saturday on the campus of Roger Williams and finished in fourth place in the eight team field.
Leading the way for the Gulls were freshman Abigail Keim (Williston, Vt.), sophomore Kelly O'Neill (Cumberland, R.I.), and freshman Samantha Pearl (Concord, N.H.) as the three runners all finished with top-20 times. Keim finished 14th in a time of 24:05.21 while O'Neill was just behind, in a time of 24:05.80, and in 16th. Pearl rounded out the top-20 finishes by placing 19th in a time of 24:22.18. For Keim, she finished as the top first year runner in the race, earning CCC Rookie of the Year honors for her performance, becoming the first ever Endicott women's cross country member to earn the honor.
Sophomore Kiera Malone (Woburn, Mass.) finished in a time of 24:29 to finish 26th in the 110 runner field while freshman Lauren Tocci (Shamong, N.J.) rounded out the scoring by finishing 29th in a time of 24:46.36.
Senior Holly Rigoli (Waltham, Mass.), who finished 41st in a time of 25:30.54, was named CCC Senior Scholar-Athlete for her performance in the classroom and on the course. Rigoli joins Keim in the historic 2015 season as she becomes the first women's cross country member to earn the distinction.
TOP QUOTE
Head coach Spencer Lange stated, "Congratulations to UNE and Salve for their top two finishes. I'm proud of what our women accomplished today. Everyone on the team ran a 6K personal record today so you can't ask for much more than that. They approached this race with confidence and composure and executed exactly as planned. At the end of the day, these championship races are less about time and more about places so we fell just short of Gordon who had two women in the top-10. Abby and Kelly ran very tough together followed closely by Sam. They've continued to push each other through these races which is very encouraging going forward. Holly was our only senior in the top seven which bodes well for the future of this young team. Holly also was awarded the CCC Senior Scholar-Athelte of the Year. She deserves that acknowledgement with all of the hard work she puts in not just as an athelte, but more importantly, as a student. Abby was awarded CCC Rookie of the Year, a well-deserved and hard-earned achievement. With the top seven going on to the NCAA Regionals, they're focused on continuing their efforts and racing against both our conference and regional competition one more time."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Gulls are off for two weeks as they will ramp up training for the NCAA DIII New England Regionals. That race will be held on Saturday, November 14 at the Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford, Conn. With solid performances from the top five or individuals, a berth into the NCAA DIII Championship in Winneconne, Wis. awaits. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
