Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Teams Win Both NEWMAC Championship Titles, Runners of the Year
The nationally ranked number three MIT women’s cross country team placed six runners in the top seven, including Runner of the Year, Maria J. Monks ’10, to win its third consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship in convincing fashion on Saturday at Franklin Park. Seven Tech harriers were named to the NEWMAC All-Conference team.
Monks edged teammate Jacqueline M. Wentz ’10, last year’s top overall finisher, for the individual title. Monks completed the five-kilometer course in 18:32, 13 seconds faster than Wentz’s runner-up time. Springfield’s Amanda DiPaolo, who placed third, was the only runner preventing the Cardinal and Grey from completing a sweep of the top five. Brooke C. Johnson ’13, who captured NEWMAC Rookie of the Year honors as the top freshman finisher, took fourth with her time of 19:20. Melissa A. Showers was right behind her at 19:21. Tania K. Morimoto ’12 rounded out the scoring for Tech, coming through the chute at 19:31. Alina E. Gatowski ’11 (7th) and Katherine J. Eve ’12 (11th) also collected All-Conference accolades for the Engineers.
MIT’s total of 18 points was good enough to secure the sixth conference title in program history. Wellesley College was second with 75 points.
The Engineers will look to back up their number one ranking in the region at the New England Division III Championship in two weeks. The meet, hosted by Southern Maine, begins at 12:00 p.m.