Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
After three weeks of waiting for competition, New England champion Corey Conner was eager to make another big impact for the women’s cross country team. On Saturday at the University of Vermont, the front-running sophomore took the Black Bear women on her shoulders and ran the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 56.9 seconds to win her first individual America East conference championship.
Conner’s victory propelled the women’s team from their preseason conference ranking of fifth to second place behind the heavily favored women of Stony Brook University, who placed their three top runners consecutively behind her and all five scorers in the top 12 places.
“[New England’s was] a confidence booster for sure, but our conference is really competitive and there [were] so many great girls running in the race,” Conner said. “I [didn’t] really have any expectations going into the race about winning.”
Conner’s performance will cement her place in UMaine running history, but one runner does not make a team and the women got outstanding performances from its other runners as well. Junior Vanessa Letourneau took 11th place in 19:04.20, senior Jordan Daniel earned 22nd place in 19:37.10, and junior Allie Conner nabbed the 25th spot in 19:40.30. Freshman Whitney Chamberlain rounded out the women’s scoring team, finishing in 31st place in 19:55.90.
“I’m so proud of Corey, and not surprised at all,” Daniel said. “If anyone deserves it, it’s Corey. She’s a powerhouse.”
The men’s team, running without their sophomore difference maker Riley Masters, struggled to put together a solid team performance and despite their preseason ranking of fifth, managed a disappointing seventh place finish.
The Binghamton men, including Masters’ former Bangor High School teammate Casey Quaglia, upset the University of New Hampshire and Stony Brook by placing four runners in the top 10 to take the team title behind the individual champion, junior Erik van Ingen.
Senior Miles Bartlett picked up the slack for the Black Bears, finishing in 25:57.00 for eighth place and a spot on the All-Conference team.
The scoring team consisted of sophomores Dave Currier (29th, 26:58.80) and Spencer McElwain (31st, 26:59.60), freshman Taylor Phillips (49th, 27:31.50), and senior captain Corey Bean (57th, 27:50.70).
The NCAA championships will be held at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, In. To qualify, the teams will have to perform well at the regional qualifier at Franklin Park in Boston. The meet will be held on Nov. 14, and the start time is still to be determined.
