About The Team
The 2011 women’s cross country team featured one of its
deepest and most talented squads under eighth-year head coach
Amy Lane.
During the season-ending New England Collegiate Conference
(NECC) Championship meet, Coach Lane was named the NECC Coach of
the Year for both the men’s and women’s teams as the
women’s team finished in fourth place – it’s best
finish of the 2011 campaign.
Coach Lane, whose training philosophy combines traditional runs
with innovative cross-training techniques, is focused on recruiting
talented runners. 2011 proved no exception as the Blazers continued
to see that talent come to fruition on the course.
The women’s team featured five first-year runners including
Rachel Lehouillier (Belchertown,
Mass.) who was the Blazers’ top performer in five
competitions during the season. Lehouillier notched a personal
collegiate-best time of 21:57 at the season ending NECC
Championship meet to place 11th overall and her time in
that race places her eighth on the program’s top 10 list for
any 5-kilometer course. Her mark of 22:46 during Elms’ home
invitational is sixth best by any Elms runner on the team’s
home course.
First-year runner Meghan Sullivan (Springfield,
Mass.) was Elms’ second best runner during three
meets in 2011, and ended her debut season with a personal
collegiate-best time of 24:50 at the NECC Championship to finish
third among Blazers runners. Kerry Ashe (Springfield,
Mass.) earned her collegiate-best time of 24:39 during the
final race of the campaign, notching a time of 24:39 to place
second for Elms.
The cross country schedule includes meets against many of the best
Division III teams in New England and New York. The Blazers
conclude each season with three championships — the NECC
Championship, the ECAC Division III Championship, and the NCAA
Division III New England Qualifier.
The Blazers will continue to host the Blazers Invitational at
Chicopee Memorial State Park. This site provides soft surfaced
trails for optimized training, and also serves as the home practice
and competition site for the two teams throughout the season.