MCLA Women 6th at MASCAC Championship

Westfield State claimed its eighth straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country title with a 28-point victory over runner-up Worcester State in the 27^th Annual MASCAC Championship race that took place Saturday morning as part of the 15^th Annual New England Alliance Championships on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Westfield State placed all five of its scorers in the top eight to post a team score of 23 points, as the Owls took the conference crown for the 12^th time in the last 14 years and won its 15^th overall championship.  Worcester State followed with 51 points in the event, while Bridgewater State finished third overall with 72 points.  Salem State and Fitchburg State followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with scores of 130 and 135 points, while MCLA was sixth with a score of 171 points.  Massachusetts Maritime and Framingham State rounded out the competition by finishing in seventh and eighth place, respectively, with scores of 181 and 185 points.

Westfield State freshman Amy Trainque (Fitchburg, Mass.) paced the Owls' scoring with a runner-up time of 18:45 over the 5K layout, as she was tabbed as the MASCAC Rookie of the Year for her efforts.  Freshman Olivia Marshall (North Andover, Mass.) and senior Marissa Bonito (Rockland, Mass.) were next in third and fourth place, respectively for Westfield State with times of 19:16 and 19:33.

Bridgewater State junior Molly Rouillard (Dartmouth, Mass.) successfully defended her MASCAC individual crown in besting Trainque by eight seconds with a time of 18:37 to take MASCAC Runner of the Year honors for a second straight season, while senior Sarah Lagasse (Rehoboth, Mass.) was fifth for the Bears with a time of 19:35.  Worcester State juniors Erin Donohue (Saugus, Mass.) and Brittany Grueter (Foxboro, Mass.), along with sophomore Ali Barrett (Hingham, Mass.), rounded out the all-conference honorees by placing seventh, eighth and 10^th, respectively, for the Lancers with times of 19:57, 20:07 and 20:19, as the top 10 individuals in the event earned all-MASCAC accolades.  Worcester State Head Coach Mat Lemaire was tabbed by his peers as the MASCAC Turfer Coach of the Year after guiding his squad to the runner-up team finish.

Danielle Sylvester finished 21^st for MCLA with a time of 21:01 and Caitlin Culver finished 46^th with a time of 22:35. Sylvester finished 52^nd in the New England Alliance Championship.

Keene State won its 12^th straight New England Alliance Championship by doubling up runner-up Westfield State (32-64) in an event that combines competition from both the MASCAC and Little East Conference.  Southern Maine finished in third place in the Alliance standings with a score of 80 points, while Worcester State (126 points) was fifth. MCLA was eleventh.