Submitted by Dominick Delello, St. Michael’s College.
(Oct. 1, 2018) — Junior Abby French (Nashua, N.H./Academy of Notre Dame) became the fifth Saint Michael’s College women’s cross country runner in 11 years to win the Vermont Intercollegiate Championship as both the Purple Knight men and women took second out of eight schools at the state meet on Saturday at Northern Vermont University-Lyndon.
The women’s team finished with 46 points in the 5K, 14 points behind Middlebury College, which is ranked 13th in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III national poll. The first-place finish was the first of French’s career and her ninth top-10 finish. Her time of 21:32.3 was 55.7 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Junior Emma Koukos (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) finished ninth with a time of 23:56.8 to grab her first career top-10 finish. Senior Emily Calder (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton) finished one spot behind Koukos with a time of 23:59.9 to post her second career top-10 finish. First-year Eleanor Devereux (Jericho, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union) finished 12th, clocking in at 24:17.7, while first-year Rachel Smith (Old Forge, N.Y./Town of Webb) came in 14th at 24:50.0. Sophomore Molly Nemes (Plymouth, Mass./Sturgis Charter Public School) crossed the finish line 25:16.8, good for 18th, while first-year Alexus Day (Belmont, N.H./Belmont) finished 19th, coming in at 25:31.7. Although she didn’t score for the Purple Knights, junior Sam Rossi (Wilton, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) finished right on the heels of Day, coming in 20th with a time of 25:34.1.
The men’s team notched 74 points in the 8K, finishing 17 points ahead of third-place Norwich University and behind only Middlebury, which is ranked seventh in the nation in Division III. The men’s team’s second-place finish was its best in the state championship since 1997. Junior Kevin Jeter (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) paced the Purple Knights with an 11th-place finish at 31:23.7 while first-year James Downs (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) finished 15th, clocking in at 31:46.6. First-year Nate Hartley (Hadley, N.Y./Hadley-Luzerne) finished 16th at 32:07.1, while first-year John Cunningham (Springfield, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) and seniors Nathan Terry (Reading, Mass./Tilton School) and David Baird (Higganum, Conn./Haddam-Killingworth) finished 18th through 20th with times of 32:27.3, 32:41.9, and 32:45.3, respectively. First-year Jake Donnelly (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) finished at 33:34.5 to grab 27th place.
