Lyndon State, Farmington Repeat at NAC Cross Country Championship
Poultney, VT - The Lyndon State College men and University of Maine Farmington women's cross country teams captured their respective team crowns to repeat as 2009 North Atlantic Conference Champions. The Hornets grabbed 4 of the top 7 spots to edge Maine Maritime while the Beavers placed 6 runners in the top 12 to easily capture the title Saturday on the campus of Green Mountain College in Poultney, VT.
Lyndon Freshman Joshua Grant Leads Hornets
Freshman Joshua Grant (Nashua, NH) captured the men's medalist honor covering the 8k course in 27:22 to lead the Hornets to the team title. Grant finished 47 seconds in front of individual runner-up Matthew Methot (Portland, ME) of Maine Maritime Academy. LSC's Wilden Fils (Stamford, CT), MMA's Lucas Miller (Belfast, ME), and LSC's Jeremiah Powell (Lunenburg, VT) finished 3rd-6th, respectively, within 4 seconds of one another.
The Hornets (27 points) were closely followed by Maine Maritime (39) who claimed 4 top-10 spots. The University of Maine Farmington (78) was a distant 3rd followed by Castleton State (82), Johnson State College (156), and Thomas College (169). The host Green Mountain College Eagles rounded out the field in7th with 183 points.
Lyndon St. head coach Chris Ummer was voted men's NAC Coach of the Year by his peers while the Mariners were honored with the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Farmignton Cruise to Women's Title
The University of Maine Farmington grabbed 3rd-6th to easily out-pace the competition en route to their 3rd consecutive North Atlantic Conference Championship. The Beavers totaled 28 points while the runner-up Spartans of Castleton State finished with 75. Lyndon State College (85) nabbed 3rd followed by Green Mountain College (105), Maine Maritime Academy (110), and Johnson State College (127).
MMA senior Rachel Sincebaugh (Greenville, TX) captured the individual title in 19:39, averaging 6:20 per mile over the 5k course. Castleton's Maggie Klein (Castleton, VT) nabbed 2nd (20:13) while 2008 champion Emily Farley (Bernard, ME) from Me.-Farmington finished 3rdth place finish for the Terriers who, in the programs 1st year, did not record a team score. (20:44). Thomas College junior Laura Coyne (Saco, ME) raced to a 4
Lyndon St. grabbed the Team Sportsmanship Award while UMF head coach Ryan Wagner was honored as the women's NAC Coach of the Year.
October 30, 2009
Green Mountain to Host 2009 NAC Cross Country Championships
Green Mountain College will host the North Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday, October 31. The men will compete at 11:00 am followed by the women at noon.
The course is "flat and fast". The runners start and finish adjacent to the soccer field. Both men and women complete one loop around the soccer field and enter into the back trails on our campus, running adjacent to the Poultney River and along the perimeter of our farm field. Runners continue around the barn, behind the library, along the perimeter in front of the campus, and down Rae Terrace (paved road) before heading back into the trails for one more half loop (women) followed by a run thru "Muddy Lane" into the finish.
The men continue on their second loop thru the farm fields before completing one loop around the "pump house". Runners will head down the asphalt road before making a left turn and running along the perimeter of the farm, continuing thru as before. After coming down the hill next to the soccer field, runners make a left towards, and around, the softball field into the finish.
Competing in the 2009 championship will be men's and women's teams from Castleton, Green Mountain, Johnson State, Lyndon State, Farmington, Maine Maritime and Thomas.
At the 2008 championship, the Lyndon State College men's cross country team and the University of Maine-Farmington women's cross country team each earned North Atlantic Conference Championships on Saturday in sunny but very frigid weather at Johnson State College.
NAC all-conference honors are determined by the finish at the event. The top meet's finisher along with the next seven competitors will be honored as first-team all-conference. The next seven finishers will be recognized on the second-team. A Rookie of the Year (top rookie finisher), Team Sportsmanship and Coach of the Year will also be named.
Complete race results and team standings will be posted following the race at www.nacathletics.com.
