Men's and women's cross country takes great strides at NCAA Division III New England Championships; Pyle qualifies for second national meet

November 15, 2003

CUMBERLAND, ME- The Wheaton College men's and women's cross country teams each took great strides at this weekend's NCAA Division III New England Championships held at the Twin Brook Recreation Complex, as the Lyons improved their finishes by several places compared to one season ago. The men jumped an impressive ten spots, claiming 15th place among the 38-team pool, while the women improved by nine places and finished 11th among 35 competing teams.

The women's 324 points marked the best team performance among the ten New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schools, as the Lyons finished ahead of Wellesley College, Springfield College and MIT. On the men's side, Wheaton was third in the conference, trailing MIT and the Coast Guard Academy. With 394 total points, the Lyons were a mere five points behind Coast Guard.

Junior Stan Pyle (S. Portland, ME/S. Portland) highlighted the meet for the Wheaton teams, as he will make a second return to next week's NCAA Division III National Championship race held at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. Pyle was among a group of nine individuals not among the four qualifying teams that qualified for next week's race. Entering Saturday's meet, Pyle had held the Twin Brook course record with a time of 26:22. Breaking his own personal-best mark, Pyle covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 26:18, good for ninth place overall. Senior Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's) just missed the qualifying mark, as he finished 18th overall in 26:33, a mere second behind the last qualifying runner from Bates College.

Rounding out Wheaton's runners was sophomore Eric Richardson (East Walpole, MA/Bishop Feehan) in 88th in 28:13, junior Joe Chadwick (Shelburne Falls, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) in 125th in 29:01, senior Brian Donoghue (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke Catholic) in 156th in 29:34, freshmen Ben Haber (Lincoln, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury) and Matt Peirce (Lincoln, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury) in 186th and 264th, respectively.

Senior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) got caught in a similar situation as Panetta, finishing four places and seven seconds behind the last individual qualifier for the national meet. Spence finished the 6,000-meter course in 23:26, good enough for 33rd overall. Sophomore Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) wasn't far behind, placing 37th in 23:37.

Other women included freshman Jonatta Moore (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) in 59th in 24:08, junior Erin O'Brien (N. Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) in 78th in 24:33, sophomore Christina Langevin (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) in 118th in 25:16, junior Lindsey Degon (Palmer, MA/Palmer) in 125th in 25:22 and classmate Emily Doenges (Milford, CT/St. Joseph) in 144th in 25:53.

Men's Team Results: (1) Tufts 74, (2) Keene State 98, (3) Williams 107, (4) Amherst 145, (5) MIT 148, (6) Bates 192, (7) Colby 219, (8) Bowdoin 253, (9) Connecticut College (268), (10) Wesleyan 280, (11) Trinity 299, (12) Middlebury 363, (13) Coast Guard 389, (14) Brandeis 393, (15) Wheaton 394

Wheaton Individual Results: (9) Stan Pyle 26:18, (18) Terry Panetta 26:33, (88) Eric Richardson 28:13, (125) Joe Chadwick 29:01, (156) Brian Donoghue 29:34, (186) Ben Haber 30:26, (264) Matt Peirce 39:01

Women's Team Results: (1) Middlebury 51, (2) Williams 77, (3) Trinity 109, (4) Amherst 114, (5) Bowdoin 171, (6) Bates 197, (7) Wesleyan 216, (8) Keene State 248, (9) Tufts 268, (10) Colby 278, (11) Wheaton 324, (12) Wellesley 355, (13) Springfield 359, (14) MIT 367, (15) Brandeis 417

Wheaton Individual Results: (33) Kim Spence 23:26, (37) Kendra Leith 23:37, (59) Jonatta Moore 24:08, (78) Erin O'Brien 24:33, (118) Christina Langevin 25:16, (125) Lindsey Degon 25:22, (144) Emily Doenges 25:53

Complete Results

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