Women's Cross Country finishes 7th at MASCAC championships

MASCAC Women's Cross Country Results

Westfield, MA- The MCLA Women's Cross Country team finished in 7th place this afternoon in the MASCAC championships held at Westfield State University.  Danielle Sylvester paced the Trailblazers.

Host Westfield State claimed its ninth straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country title with a 30-point victory over runner-up Worcester State in the 28^th Annual MASCAC Championship at Stanley Park.

Westfield State placed all five of its scorers in the top eight to post a team score of 25 points, as the Owls took the conference crown for the 13^th time in the last 15 years and won their 16^th overall championship while seeing all seven of their top runners earn all-MASCAC accolades.  Worcester State followed with 55 points in the event, while Bridgewater State finished third overall with 79 points.  Fitchburg State and Framingham State followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with scores of 104 and 164 points, while Massachusetts Maritime was sixth with a score of 169 points.  MCLA and Salem State rounded out the competition by finishing in seventh and eighth place, respectively, with scores of 187 and 211 points.

Westfield State sophomore Amy Trainque (Fitchburg, Mass.) paced the Owls' scoring with a runner-up time of 18:30.01 over the 5K layout, while senior Rachael Cardin (Sutton, Mass.) followed in fourth place with a time of 19:24.16.  Freshman Ashlynne Xiarhos (Yarmouthport, Mass.) and sophomore Victoria VanAlstine-Tauer (Littleton, Colo.) were next in fifth and sixth place, respectively, for Westfield State, as Xiarhos was tabbed as the MASCAC Rookie of the Year with a time of 19:27.62 and VanAlstine-Tauer followed with a time of 19:35.59.  Freshman Abby Monette (Wilbraham, Mass.) rounded out the Owls' scoring with an eighth place time of 19:48.56, while senior Lynsay Wray (North Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Olivia Marshall (North Andover, Mass.) also earned all-conference accolades for the hosts with respective ninth and 10^th place finishes of 19:49.59 and 19:58.15.

Bridgewater State senior Molly Rouillard (Dartmouth, Mass.) captured her third straight MASCAC individual crown in besting Trainque by 30 seconds with a time of 18:00.10 to take MASCAC Runner of the Year honors for a third straight straight season, while freshman Danielle Poto (North Andover, Mass.) also earned all-conference honors for the Bears with a seventh place finish of 19:36.63.  Worcester State senior Erin Donohue (Saugus, Mass.) rounded out this year's all-MASCAC honorees with a third place time of 19:08.24, while Westfield State's Bill Devine was tabbed by his peers as the MASCAC Coach of the Year.