Westfield freshman Ashlynne Xiarhos was the MASCAC Rookie of the Year. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
WESTFIELD – Westfield State claimed its ninth straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Cross Country title with a 30-point victory over runner-up Worcester State in the 28th Annual MASCAC Championship race that took place Saturday afternoon, Oct. 27, as part of the 16th Annual New England Alliance Championships at Stanley Park.
Westfield State placed all five of its scorers in the top eight to post a team score of 25 points, as the Owls took the conference crown for the 13th time in the last 15 years and won their 16th overall championship while seeing all seven of their top runners earn all-MASCAC accolades by placing in the top 10.
Worcester State followed with 55 points in the event, while Bridgewater State finished third overall with 79 points. Fitchburg State and Framingham State followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with scores of 104 and 164 points, while Massachusetts Maritime was sixth with a score of 169 points. MCLA and Salem State rounded out the competition by finishing in seventh and eighth place, respectively, with scores of 187 and 211 points.
Westfield State sophomore Amy Trainque (Fitchburg, Mass.) paced the Owls’ scoring with a runner-up time of 18:30.01 over the 5K layout, while senior Rachael Cardin (Sutton, Mass.) followed in fourth place with a time of 19:24.16. Freshman Ashlynne Xiarhos (Yarmouthport, Mass.) and sophomore Victoria VanAlstine-Tauer (Littleton, Colo.) were next in fifth and sixth place, respectively, for Westfield State, as Xiarhos was tabbed as the MASCAC Rookie of the Year with a time of 19:27.62 and VanAlstine-Tauer followed with a time of 19:35.59.
Freshman Abby Monette (Wilbraham, Mass.) rounded out the Owls’ scoring with an eighth place time of 19:48.56, while senior Lynsay Wray (North Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Olivia Marshall (North Andover, Mass.) also earned all-conference accolades for the hosts with respective ninth and 10th place finishes of 19:49.59 and 19:58.15.
Bridgewater State senior Molly Rouillard (Dartmouth, Mass.) captured her third straight MASCAC individual crown in besting Trainque by 30 seconds with a time of 18:00.10 to take MASCAC Runner of the Year honors for a third straight straight season, while freshman Danielle Poto (North Andover, Mass.) also earned all-conference honors for the Bears with a seventh place finish of 19:36.63. Worcester State senior Erin Donohue (Saugus, Mass.) rounded out this year’s all-MASCAC honorees with a third place time of 19:08.24, while Westfield State’s Bill Devine was tabbed by his peers as the MASCAC Coach of the Year.
Keene State won its 13th straight New England Alliance Championship in topping up runner-up Southern Maine by seven points (45-52) in an event that combines competition from both the MASCAC and Little East Conference. Westfield State finished in third place in the Alliance standings with a score of 78 points, as Rouillard also took top individual honors in the Alliance championships.
Westfield State University – 2012 MASCAC women’s cross country champion. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
