Full Results

Boston, MA – Both the men's and women's cross country teams had a solid showing earlier this afternoon at the NCAA East Region Cross Country Championships held at Franklin Park. Behind top-three finishes from Nick Filippazzo and Elizabeth Eickelberg, each of who punched their tickets to the national meet, both teams earned a fifth place finish in the team scoring.
 
On the women's side, Eickelberg once again impressed and led the way for the Brown and Gold. The Leonia, NJ native had the best regional showing of her career as she covered the 6k course in a time of 22:12 which was good enough for a third place finish and earned a spot on the All-Region team. Her efforts were rewarded by securing her entry at the Division II Cross Country National meet which will be held in two weeks on Saturday, November 23 at Plants Ferry Athletic Complex in Spokane, WA. This marks the second year in a row the senior will have been a part of the national meet.
 
Larissa Melendez posted a solid time of 23:23 as the Panther's second runner. She finished in 21^st place to join Eickelberg on the All-Region team; her second in as many years. In just her second race of the year, Kristina Coiro came up big for her team as she posted a 48^th place finish with a time of 24:19. Just a few strides behind was freshman Nicole Elarde and Cecelia Capozzoli in 24:24 and 24:27 respectively to earn 51^st and 54^th place finishes.
 
Rounding out the top-seven was Bryhanna Charles in 25:23 and Lindsey McLaughlin in 26:33. The Panthers strung together 177 points to finish in fifth place. Stonehill won the team title with 57 points while Bentley was second with 105. Merrimack finished third with 149 points while St. Michael's was fourth with 177 points. Tara Dooley of Bentley was the individual winner behind a time of 21:19.
 
Filippazzo ran an outstanding race and led the men with a runner up finish. His personal best time of 31:17 locked in his spot at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and earned him All-Region honors. This will be the fourth year in a row that the Panthers have sent an individual male harrier to nationals after Andrew Coelho qualified the last three years.
 
Connor Dolan was Adelphi's number two runner on the day. His time of 32:43 earned him a 22^nd place finish and an All-Region accolade. William Marois was next to break the tape and added a 33^rd place finish to the team scoring courtesy of a 33:12 effort. Ryan Healy and teammate Gregory Bader crossed the line back to back with 38^th place and 39^th place finishes respectively after each recording a time of 33:26.
 
Rounding out the top-seven was Matthew Moody in 34:02 and Chris Reilly in 34:32. The squad managed a fifth place finish behind a 134 point effort. Stonehill took the team title with 78 points while Franklin Pierce was a near second just 19 points behind. Wilmington's 100 points was good enough for fourth while AIC edged the Panthers by just eight points with 126. Michael Biwott was the overall victor of the race after covering the 10k course in 30:30.
 
Coach's Thoughts on the Women's Race
"The women ran their best collective race all season," explained Head Coach Katie Rees. "Our 3-4-5 runners stepped up big and really worked together when it counted in the last mile of the race. We knew that our place at NE-10's did not indicate what we were truly capable of and the women set out to fix that today. They did the best they could to get as close to the top-three teams as possible. We knew that Betsy would be in contention for a top-five finish. It is her senior year so making nationals again and this time aiming for All-American was her main individual goal since last year.
 
Coach's Thoughts on the Men's Race
"The men ran excellent," stated Rees. "It was going to be a tight race to get into the top-three, but they went for it. They raced like they wanted it and we just fell a little short. However, we finished ahead of Southern Connecticut and bridged the gap to AIC; teams that beat us at NE-10's two weeks ago. Individually, we knew FIlippazzo should finish in the top-three and we told him he could run with the two AIC runners. They're both great runners but we knew Nick was capable of hanging with them and then pushing the last two miles and it paid off."
 
Up Next
Head Coach Katie Rees, Eickellberg and Filippazzo will be back in action at the final meet of the year when they take on the best that Division II has to offer at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 23 in Spokane, Washington.