NE-10 Preview (Women)

zachkughn
Nov 2, 2018
2 min read

Last year’s championships saw yet another two point victory. Stonehill held off Assumption, 39 to 41 which left both teams more than 100 points clear of 3rd place (Merrimack). Assumption lost three of their top four runners and they just don’t appear to be running at the same level this year, opening up competition for the podium.

Stonehill was well clear of many of their conference rivals at Bruce Kirsh, and should run away with this one. Stonehill also lost two of their top three runners from last year’s NE-10 Championship, including conference champion and All-American Emily Knox.

Even with such a high-profile loss, the Skyhawks will not be at a loss for leadership as they have top conference returner Makenzie Cyr. With the exception of the Bruce Kirsch Cross Country Cup (where the Stonehill women also held back their top runners), she has consistently outclassed her conference competition and has had a strong cast of supporters to carry the team to strong finishes in the regular season. With approximately a 20 second spread between their 1-5 runners, I don’t see a way that Stonehill doesn’t win another conference championship this weekend.

Le Moyne may be the real surprise this year. They threw down some blazing fast times on the Hudson Valley course and I can see them being as high as 2nd. They haven’t raced the top conference competition much this regular season, but they have some strong front runners in Eva Keohane and Brittney Mack, who both put down sub 22 minute performances at Hudson Valley. With numerous juniors in their top seven, and only one graduating senior in Brittney Mack, this team could be a force to be reckoned with at the conference level in 2019.

Merrimack has continued their solid performances from last year, which should be good enough to get them 2nd. Their surprise of the season has been senior Tia Foglietta, who has taken a major step forward to become one of the top performers in the conference. With a 5000 meter PR of 19:15 (track), Tia has run faster than that twice this year on the grass and will look to continue her great year by finishing on the podium at NE-10's.

Another runner to look out for from Merrimack is Julia Dempsey. Julia is Merrimack’s top returner from last years NE-10 Championship meet where she finished 20th. After setting PR’s at multiple distances on the track in 2018, she has yet to return to that form this cross country season. If she can find a way to perform to her potential this weekend, that could lock down 2nd place for the Warriors.

The individuals will be way harder to predict, but the top returner is Makenzie Cyr. If she can steer clear of her own teammates, she could be in the running for an individual title. However, it was Tia Foglietta who had a huge breakthrough performance at Bruce Kirsch, surpassing several Stonehill runners who had beaten her at NEICAAA’s. She hasn’t run a 6k yet this year, but I expect her to adjust well to the distance change and finish ahead of a couple strong Stonehill runners to finish on the podium.