About The Team 

The men's and women's cross country programs continue to grow under the direction of third-year head coach Amy Lane. Both teams have combined to produce six All-NAC (North Atlantic Conference) runners, 10 Academic All-Americans, and one NAC Runner of the Year during the past eight years.

The women's team has been recognized as a Division III Academic All-American team in four of the last seven years. The Blazers won consecutive NAC Championships in 2000 and 2001, and narrowly missed claiming their third consecutive championship in 2002. Last season, Jill Bigos (Florence, MA) finished 15^th overall and Amanda Koch (Williston, VT) placed 17th to help the Blazers post a fifth place finish at the NAC Championship.

Earlier in the year, the women's team earned championship honors at the Blazers Invitational, as the Blazers had five runners in the top 20 overall, including Catherine Andrews' (Feeding Hills, MA) winning time of 21:12 in the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) race.

The men's program capped its successful 2002 season by earning conference runner-up honors at the NAC Championship, which the Blazers hosted. The men's team has continued to grow, and fielded a full roster for the first time in program history in 2002.

In 2003, the team earned championship honors in the Blazers Invitational. In 2006, Joe Crooks (Chicopee, MA) raced to a season-best fifth place finish at the Smith Invitational, while Ryan Sullivan (Lenox, MA) earned his best finish of the year (10^th place) in the Blazers Invitational.

Coach Lane, whose training philosophy combines traditional runs with innovative cross-training techniques, is focused on recruiting talented runners from throughout the New England and the Northeast region.

Coach Lane upgrades the cross country schedule every year to include meets against many of the best Division II and III teams in New England and New York. The Blazers currently compete in the James Earley Invitational, a meet that annually attract more than 30 Division III teams from throughout the Northeast region. The Blazers conclude each season with three championships - the NAC Championship, the ECAC Division III Championship, and the NCAA Division III New England Qualifier.

The Blazers will continue to host the Blazers Invitational at the Chicopee Memorial State Park. This site provides soft surfaced trails for optimized training, and also serves as the home competition site for the two teams throughout the season.