NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University women's cross country team returned to action on their home course for the most critical meet of all, posting a fourth-place finish out of 11 scoring teams at the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday.
Norwich hosted 13 teams in total, with 11 finishing with enough scorers. Colby-Sawyer College claimed their fifth-straight conference title, capturing the crown on 53 points. Emmanuel College and JWU (Providence) posted second- and third-place finishes on 83 and 93 points respectively, while the Cadets' 108-point tally cemented them in fourth, ahead of Simmons University's 121 points.
Regis College, Lasell University, Rivier University, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Elms College, and Dean College rounded out those that scored, while New England College and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) had runners participate.
Nearly a month after taking the top spot at the Norwich Cadet Invitational, Rivier's Emma McEvoy repeated as the individual winner, taking home GNAC Runner of the Year honors on a 23:48.3 time. Colby-Sawyer's Adriana Nadeau and JWU (Providence)'s Marissa Lombardi rounded out the top three finishers.
Delaney Whitmarsh (North Yarmouth, Maine) clocked in at fourth overall to pace Norwich, crossing the line in 25:08.1 to finish as the top individual first-year at the title meet, receiving GNAC Rookie of the Year recognition while landing on the GNAC All-Conference First Team.
Cece Winters (Waco, Texas), the reigning GNAC Rookie of the Year, also found herself earning All-Conference nods, tallying a 26:08.0 effort to finish 11th overall, enough to earn a spot on the GNAC's Second Team.
Shannon Driscoll (Wakefield, Mass.) posted a strong effort on the day, finishing 16th overall on a 26:37.8 time, while
Joelle Moore (Swanton, Ohio) returned to the course for her season debut, coming in at 36th on 28:33.1.
The Cadet effort was rounded out by
Wendy Cantor Hernandez (Dobson, N.C.) and
Alexandra Velez (Gainesville, Va.), with the pair ending in 43rd and 49th place, in a field of 82 runners.
The meet, much like the Norwich Cadet Invitational, was started by the pairing of the Norwich Artillery Battery and Joe Barch '82. The Norwich Artillery Battery began the meet with a firing of a M116 75mm Pack Howitzer, while Barch, a member of the 1982 Norwich Athletic Hall of Fame cross country team, served as the official starter.
WOMEN'S LEADERS:
The Cadets will now look ahead to the NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional Championship, hosted by Connecticut College in Waterford, Conn., on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 11:00 a.m.
