Cross Country opens 2012 season at UNE Invitational

BIDDEFORD, Maine - The Endicott men's and women's cross country teams raced at the UNE Invitational on Saturday and both teams got off to a solid start with the women placing fifth and the men having strong individual finishes.

The women's cross country team finished fifth as a team out of 13 total with a collective 131 points.  Southern Maine (21) captured first place followed by UNE (73), Gordon (112), Husson (116), and Endicott.  

Individually, the Gulls saw senior Kim Shepherd (Essex, Conn.) cross the finish line ninth overall with a time of 21:21 for the 5,110 meter (3.17 mile) race.  Freshman Lauren Boyle followed at 22:56, then senior Holly Davis (Guilford, Conn.) at 23:13, junior Jillian Mendes (Waterbury Center, Vt.) at 23:13 and sophomore Jocelyn Kane (East Longmeadow, Mass.) at 23:31.  

In the men's race, freshman Daniel Marchi (Trier, Germany) had a top-20 finish with a time of 30:53 with sophomore Alex Walecka (North Dartmouth, Mass.) clocking in at 33:20 and 40th place overall.  

The Gulls race again next Saturday at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.  The men start at 11:15 am while the women begin at noon.