Smithfield, R.I.- The Saint Francis University men's and women's cross country teams each claimed second place finishes at the Northeast Conference Championships on Saturday.  This was the first time in fourteen years (2004), that both teams placed in the top two.  In addition to strong competition, the SFU teams also had to overcome tough course conditions due to heavy rains and high winds.
 
Women's Overview

Coach Hoover was extremely proud of his squads, "I'm incredibly proud of our women.  They worked as a team and executed their race plan to perfection.  We talked about looking for opportunities to be courageous in the race, and to take them. The women did that. It is always great to be in battles like this. Credit to Central Connecticut…They ran a fantastic race. Hannah Dorian (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) continued her fantastic senior season and battled with Rafter throughout the race for the individual title.  It is so great to see her realizing the fruits of her labor this year. We thought on a good day we could get our next three into the top ten, and they did that. Madison Wright (Eaton, Ohio/Twin Valley South) and Catie Jaskowak (Grove City, Pa./Grove City Area) were pushing in the lead pack throughout, and Hannah Jones (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) was stalking that group and closed very strong.  They did what they hoped to do.
We knew going in that we needed at least one woman to close the gap to those front four, and our next five women went for it.  We thought we'd need our fifth woman in the top twenty to have a shot at the title. Going for it probably cost a couple of our women a little bit.  But, the strategy worked as Hannah Weber (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) had arguably the best race of her career to take 19^th.  The same can be said for Kayla Brennan (DuBois, Pa./DuBois Area) and Shannon Cody (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) in 25^th and 26^th.  All three of them ran 5k PR's on a really tough day."
 
The SFU women lost by just two points (46-48) to Central Connecticut State University, who earned their first team title since 1999.  The defending champions of Sacred Heart finished third.  Four Saint Francis women finished among the top ten in the race and earned All-Conference honors.
 
Hannah Dorian (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) continued her strong senior campaign, as she took second place individually with a time of 18:14.5.  She was eleven seconds behind the champion, Angelia Rafter of Central Connecticut.  In doing so, Dorian became the eighth SFU woman ever to finish among the top two at the NEC Championships and just the fifth SFU woman in school history to earn All-NEC honors four times.  She had previously finished 9^th (2014), 8^th (2016), and 10^th (2017).
 
Saint Francis' next three women each earned their first All-NEC honor.  They became the 31^st, 32^nd, and 33^rd SFU women ever to earn All-NEC Cross Country honors.
 
Sophomore Hannah Jones (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) improved from 19^th place last year to 8^th place this year with a personal best time of 18:47.0.  This was the first time Jones has finished as high as second on the team in her career, when the team was running a full squad.
 
Fellow sophomore Madison Wright (Eaton, Ohio/Twin Valley South) improved from 22^nd last year to 9^th this year, with a time of 18:48.5.
 
Finally, junior Catie Jaskowak (Grove City, Pa./Grove City Area) improved from 27^th as a freshman (2016), to 21^st as a sophomore (2017), to 10^th this year, with a time of 18:48.7.
 
Senior Hannah Weber (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) rounded out the SFU scorers, as she cracked the NEC top-20 for the first time with a career best race, finishing in 19^th place with a personal best time of 19:24.3.
 
Senior Kayla Brennan (DuBois, Pa./DuBois Area) was the team's sixth finisher (her highest finish ever on the team).  She improved from 43^rd in her only previous NEC Championship appearance three years ago as a freshman, to 25^th this year in a personal best time of 19:39.3.
 
Freshman Shannon Cody (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) made her NEC Championship debut as SFU's seventh woman in 26^th place with a personal best time of 19:39.8.  She was the third freshman in the field.  She was 32 seconds behind NEC Rookie of the Year Ashley Dana of CCSU, and 23  seconds behind Sacred Heart freshman Gaelyn Kattman.
 
Junior Laura Roth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) took 29^th with a time of 19:52.6 and sophomore Taya Whitfield (Marion Center, Pa./Marion Center) took 32^nd in 20:00.8.
 
Sophomore Emma Gentile (Evans City, Pa./Mars Area) competed in her first NEC Championship, taking 54^th place with a time of 21:17.3.  She finished among the five scorers on six of the ten teams in the league.
 
Men's Overview

Coach Hoover was pleased by the running of his charges, "Our men executed their race plan very well.  We had a couple guys have rough races.  But, we persevered and held off a tough Wagner team that had a phenomenal race for second place. Mount Saint Mary's had a stellar day.  Congratulations to them for the win. Griffin Molino (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) was very poised throughout the race and closed strong to get on the podium.  He's got a bright future here as he is finding his stride now. Jeremie Venne (Ottawa, Ontario/Franco-Cite) ran a very strong race.  He prefers to go out a bit conservative and build throughout the race.  But, he is getting more confident with getting out strong, and he knew that his team needed him to do just that today. Brenden Miller (Millersburg, Pa./Upper Dauphin) continues to be a grinder and fearless competitor.  He got a little behind early, but stayed calm and worked his way back into the lead group. Brian Hackman (Warriors Park, Pa./Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) had his highest finish of the season, taking 20^th place as our fifth scorer. We thought it would take 45-50 points to win this meet.  Mount won it with 44. We could not get there today.  But, I think we took a huge step in the right direction, proving that we can persevere when things don't go as planned."

The SFU men lost by 15 points to Mount Saint Mary's (44-59), who earned their first team title since 1998.  Third place went to Wagner College, one point behind the Red Flash (60).
 
Three SFU men finished among the top eleven and earned All-Conference honors.  For all three, it was their first time earning the distinction, and they became the 34^th, 35^th, and 36^th SFU men in school history to do so.
 
Junior Griffin Molino (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) led the way for the SFU men for the second consecutive meet.  He took third place with a time of 25:53.5.  He became just the tenth man in school history to place among the top three in in the NEC Championship.
 
Senior Jeremie Venne (Ottawa, Ontario/Franco-Cite) took 10^th place with a time of 26:29.6.  Venne's previous NEC finishes were 36^th (2015), 16^th (2016), and 28^th (2017).
 
Freshman Brenden Miller (Millersburg, Pa./Upper Dauphin) took 11^th place with a time of 26:33.4.  He was the third freshman in the race. He was the third freshman in the race.  He was 48 seconds behind NEC Rookie and Runner of the Year Trausti Thorstein of Wagner, who won the title in 25:45.6.  Will Merritt of Mount Saint Mary's was the second freshman in 7^th place with a time of 26:07.2.
 
Sophomore Ian Gabig (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) was SFU's fourth scorer in 15^th place with a time of 26:59.1.  This was an improvement of two places over his 17^th place finish last year.
 
Competing in his fourth NEC cross country championship, Brian Hackman (Warriors Park, Pa./Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) had his highest finish ever in 20^th place with a time of 27:12.4 as the team's final scorer.  His previous finishes were 46^th(2015), 30^th (2016), and 27^th (2017).
 
Sophomores Colin Kelly (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) and Jacob Schulte (Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort) were the team's 6^th and 7^th finishers.  Kelly took 24^th with a time of 27:23.4.  That was five spots higher than his 29^th place finish last year.  Schulte made his NEC Championship debut, taking 25^th place in 27:26.2.
 
Sophomore Ian Lauver (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) and seniors Mike Strosko (Eighty-Four, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Keenan Walker (Reidsville, Pa./Mifflin County) also competed for Saint Francis.
 
Lauver dropped from 33^rd last year, to 35^th this year, with a time of 27:59.4.
 
Strosko competed in his fourth NEC cross country championship and took 43^rd place with a time of 28:35.2.  He previously finished 51^st (2015), 40^th (2016), and 18^th (2017).
 
Walker competed in his third NEC championship.  He finished 44^th with a time of 28:35.3.  He had previously finished 17^th (2016) and 49^th (2017).
 
Up Next
 
The teams will compete in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships hosted by Penn State University on Friday, November 9. Coach Hoover has high hopes after the NEC Championships stating, "This sets up well for the NCAA championship in two weeks. I'm excited to see what we can do there."
 
Other Notes
 
Hannah Dorian (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) joins the following seven SFU women to ever to finish among the top two at the NEC Championships:
                Roberta Pickens (2^nd in 1997 & 1999)
                Beth Pile (2^nd in 2001)
                Kristen Cerasi (1^st in 2002)
                Erika Jacobs (2^nd in 2003 & 2006)
                Whitney Schnarr (2^nd in 2004 & 2005)
                Kylie Jackson (2^nd in 2014)
                Danae Peters (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) (2^nd in 2016)
 
Hannah Dorian (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) joins the following four SFU women to earn All-NEC honors four times:
                Roberta Pickens (1996-1999)
                Laura Beach (2001-2004)
                Erika Jacobs (2003-2006)
                Anna Hoffman (2006-2009)
 
Griffin Molino (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) joins the following nine SFU men to ever to finish among the top three at the NEC Championships:
                Brian Sell (2^nd in 1999 and 2000)
                Terry Ditmars (3^rd in 2000)
                Kevin Doyle (1^st in 2001)
                Michael Murray (2^nd in 2001)
                Andrew Catton (3^rd in 2001)
                Chad Hartzell (3^rd in 2004)
                Ryan Sheehan (1^st in 2002, 2003, and 2005)
                Patrick Quinn (2^nd in 2005)
                Bryce England (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg, Pa.) (3^rd in 2015 and 1^st in 2017)