GNAC Cross Country Report: Week 6

Colby-Sawyer freshman Shannon O'Connell set a new Chargers 5K record (18:55.04) at Saturday's Keene State Invitational en route to GNAC Women's Runner and Rookie of the Week honors.

October 7, 2019

( FOR THE WEEK OF SEPT. 30 - OCT. 6 )

MEN'S RUNNER OF THE WEEK

Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk University (So., Manchester, Mo.)

Csiki-Fejer added his second win of the season and first 8k triumph under his belt on Saturday when he topped the Keene State Invitational's 193-runner field. The sophomore came through the finisher's chute in 25:57.3, which was 7:10 faster than runner-up Mark Murdy of Brandeis.

WOMEN'S RUNNER / ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Shannon O'Connell, Colby-Sawyer (Fr., Peabody, Mass.)

O'Connell set a new Chargers 5K record to lead Colby-Sawyer at Saturday's Keene State Invitational. O'Connell posted a new program standard of 18:55.4 to beat the previous record of 19:11.07 set by Emily Lopez '17 on September 17, 2016 at UMass Dartmouth. O'Connell finished 16th out of 185 runners to help the Chargers place 8th out of 19 teams.

MEN'S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Elijah Dillon, Suffolk University (Fr., Branford, Conn.)

Dillon put together a top-50 performance in a field of nearly 200 runners in the Granite State Saturday afternoon. The Rams' rookie crossed the 8k tape in 28:12.8, not only the best time for Suffolk's freshman, but the top finish among the GNAC first-year runners on the course, which included Colby Sawyer, Regis and Rivier.

WEEK 6 HONOR ROLL

Liam Fleming, Colby-Sawyer (Sr, Orford, NH) - Senior Liam Fleming (Orford, N.H.) led the Colby-Sawyer men's cross country team at Saturday's Keene State Invitational by placing sixth out of 193 runners. Fleming finished the 8k race with a time of 26:26.4 to help the Chargers place sixth out of 16 scoring teams.

Erik Brobst, Emmanuel (Sr., Freeport, Maine) - Brobst ran the Lehigh Paul Short Run 8K course in a time of 27:18 to finish in 106th place in a field comprised of Division I, II and III runners. The time was just two seconds behind his PR time, averaging a mile split time of 5:29 in the race.

Zach Curry, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Beverly, Mass.) - First-year runner Zach Curry was the first Johnson & Wales runner to cross the finish line at the Tri-State Championship finishing 33rd with a time of 29:55.75 - five seconds ahead of teammate Matthew Ursillo.

Kaylan Dunham, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., West Point, N.Y.) - Junior runner Kaylan Dunham ran a 7:07.8 mile to finish 26th in the 73-runner field at the Tri-State Championship, crossing the finish line with a time of 22:08.89on Saturday afternoon.

Maggie Mann, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Buzzards Bay, Mass.) - Mann once again posted the fastest 5K time in program history, crossing the finish line 18th at the Keene State Invitational. Her time of 19:01.2 was seven seconds faster than the mark she posted in originally breaking the school record two weeks ago at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. She was Regis' top finisher for the third straight race and has ended up in the top 20 in all four events so far this season for the Pride.

JJ Pedersen, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Milford, Conn.) - JJ Pedersen made history as he once again crossed the finish line first among Regis competitiors. His time of 27:01.2 is the fastest eight-kilometer time in Pride history, breaking the previous record set over five years ago by almost 22 full seconds. It is Pedersen's third top-20 finish of the season.

Troy Hendricks, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sophomore, Hiram, Maine) - Hendricks led Saint Joseph's with a time of 27:50.3 battling the rolling hills for a 26th overall finish in the 8K Maine State Championship on Saturday.

Kelsey Kennedy, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Freshman, Cape Elizabeth, Maine) - Kennedy paced the Monks and placed 48th overall with a 22:05.8 time in the 5K Maine State Championship on Saturday.

GNAC CROSS COUNTRY WEEKLY ARCHIVE (2019)

WEEK	MEN'S RUNNER	WOMEN'S RUNNER	MEN'S ROOKIE	WOMEN'S ROOKIE
1	Matyas Csiki-Fejer, SUF	Emily Manfra, SUF	Cole Bolduc, SUF	Marin Stamer, SUF
2	Adam Saucier, NOR	Maggie Mann, REG	Zach Curry, JWU	Remi Parker, NOR
3	Troy Hendricks, SJC	Camilla Grosso, SJC	David Kavanaugh, USJ	Camilla Grosso, SJC
4	Matyas Csiki-Fejer, SUF (2)	Emily Manfra, SUF (2)	Guilaume Glaudel, SUF	Zoe Utton, CSC
5	David Kavanaugh, USJ	Samantha Molinari, RIV	David Kavanaugh, USJ (2)	Morgan Hall, USJ
6	Matyas Csiki-Fejer, SUF (3)	Shannon O'Connell, CSC	Elijah Dillon, SUF	Shannon O'Connell, CSC

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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