A Few Words From Coach Lane
The Elms Cross Country Team hosted our Blazer Invitational this past weekend – one of our favorite events of the year. Our home course, located at Chicopee State Park, is a fun and challenging course which includes some significant climbs, and the downhill ‘roller coaster’ section – we love having other teams come out and enjoy our trails. This year’s trail was super muddy and slow due to rains the week before, so times were slower. That just means we get to improve in a few weeks on the flat and fast Westfield State course.
The teams competed well! Our men’s team showed that cross country is a team sport, and that being a team means getting 5 guys across the finish line – and that’s how we bested our NECC rivals. Jesse Zina lead the team, clocking 33:05, finishing ahead of all other NECC runners and notching the 2nd best time by an Elms runner on the Blazer’s course. Ben Kronlund had a great race running a strong 38:10, followed by Jessie Murray finishing a strong 44:38. Mike Desmond continues to creep closer to his goal time, finishing in 48:00. Nick Green is becoming a great runner, he improved over last week’s finish with a 55:04. We were the only NECC team to get 5 runners across the line!
Our lady’s team continue to show their strength and depth, running strong against our NECC competition. We finished a mere 1 point behind conference rivals Newbury, but were able to finish ahead of the rest of the NECC teams. Rachel Lehouillier continues to exceed expectations – finishing in a new PR of 22:47 which earned her the 6th fastest Elms time on our course, and also got her NECC Rookie of the Week honors for the 2nd time this season. Meghan Sullivan was a strong second Elms runner, finishing in 26:37, her fastest time all season! Next, we had our pack of runners, with Jenn Cicero (27:36), Kerry Ashe (28:17), Gabby Convalese (28:21), Emily Taylor (28:25), and Becka Bouisseau (29:27). These ladies make a strong core of the team, all pushing each other. Maddie Boehm ran a strong race, finishing in 33:12, followed by Stephanie Konstantinidis in 35:41 and Sarah Dyer in 37:13.
The team returns to action on Saturday October 8th, racing at Stanley Park hosted by Westfield State. With the hills, mis-direction in races, mud…these athletes are ready to race a flatter course and turn in some PR times. It’s an exciting time to watch the Elms Cross Country Team!