Justin Connolly was one of three freshmen to finish in the top 10 for Westfield State in the MASCAC championships. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
WESTFIELD – Bridgewater State captured its second Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country title in three seasons with an 11-point victory over defending league champion and host Westfield State in the 42nd Annual MASCAC Championship race that took place Saturday afternoon as part of the 16th Annual New England Alliance Championships at Stanley Park.
Bridgewater State had the top three runners in the event and placed four in the top seven to amass a team score of 27 points to top Westfield State’s total of 38 points, as the Owls had all five of their scorers finish in the top 10. In addition, Westfield placed 10 runners in the top 16 but only the first five runners for each team count in the team scores. Bridgewater placed five runners in the top 17 while its sixth runner finished 36th.
Fitchburg State finished in third place with 71 points, while Worcester State followed in fourth place with 110 points.
Justin Connolly was one of three freshmen to finish in the top 10 for Westfield State in the MASCAC championships. Photo by Mickey Curtis
Massachusetts Maritime followed in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with team scores of 110 and 135 points, while Framingham State posted a seventh place finish with 219 points. Salem State did not post a team score in this year’s event.
Bridgewater State senior Stephen Wahome (Lowell, Mass.) earned MASCAC Runner of the Year honors by taking top individual honors in this year’s championship with a time of 25:36.87 over the 8K layout, while senior David Phipps (Attleboro, Mass.) and junior Andy Sukeforth (Middleboro, Mass.) followed for the Bears in second and third place with respective times of 26:18.00 and 26:40.72, as Sukeforth earned the nod as MASCAC Rookie of the Year. Sophomore Dallas O’Brien (Mansfield, Mass.) also earned all-conference accolades for the winners with a seventh place finish time of 27:02.54, while freshman Mark Waller (Andover, Mass.) rounded out Bridgewater State’s scoring by placing 17th overall (14th in scoring) with a time of 27:53.31.
Freshman Tim Shea (West Springfield, Mass.) and senior Anthony Frissora (Shrewsbury, Mass.) led Westfield State’s quintet of al-conference performers with fifth and sixth place finishes of 26:44.05 and 26:55.52, while the trio of junior Tevin Honohan (New Bedford, Mass.) and freshmen Justin Connolly (Walpole, Mass.) and Mike Skelly (Pepperell, Mass.) followed in eighth, ninth and 10th place with times of 27:05.46, 27:12.33 and 27:17.14 for the Owls. Fitchburg State sophomore Eric Ouellette (Ashburnham, Mass.) rounded out the all-MASCAC squad by placing fourth for the Falcons with a time of 26:41.69, while Framingham State’s Andy Barron – a Westfield State graduate – was tabbed by his peers as the MASCAC Coach of the Year.
Keene State took top honors in the New England Alliance Championships for the third time in five seasons and for the 13th time overall, as the event combines competition from both the MASCAC and the Little East Conference. Keene State topped Bridgewater State by 40 points (36-76), with Wahome taking top individual honors in the Alliance Championships as well.
Five Westfield State runners placed in the top 10 to earn all-conference honors in the MASCAC cross country championship. Left to right, are: Justin Connolly, Mike Skelly, Anthony Frissora, Tevin Honohan, and Tim Shea. (Photo By Mickey Curtis)
