MANCHESTER, Conn. – Sophomore Mariah McPhee (Bristol) led the women and freshmen Cooper Goslin (South Windsor) and Noah Hallisey (East Lyme) paced the men Saturday at the Trinity College Bantam Invitational cross country race, held at Wickham Park.
The women's 4,000 meter race and the men's 5,000 meter race were conducted under hot, humid conditions. The Eastern men and women both competed without their No. 1 runners.
With the exception of senior Kelly Labanara (Chaplin), all 11 runners competed for the women, while ten members of the men's team crossed the finish line. Led by Top 10 runners McPhee and junior Courtney Magario (Voluntown), the women placed third among six official teams. McPee was sixth overall in a field of 70, Magario tenth. The women had 82 points, 50 behind team winner Trinity.
Goslin and Hallisey placed 24th and 25th, respectively, among 84 finishers for the men, who placed sixth among nine teams, with 152 points, 94 shy of team winner Westfield State University. The men competed without senior Lee Cattanach (New London), the No. 1 runner who missed the 2013 season with injury.
Rounding out the women's scoring runners were sophomore Sofia Amaral (New Milford), freshman Ariel Smith (Stratford), and sophomore Kelsey Nixon (Ledyard). Amara was 19th overall, Smith 26th and Nixon 27th.
The men's additional scoring runners behind Goslin and Hallisey were sophomore Joe Rainville (Montville), junior Steven LaFlamme (Moosup) and senior Kyle Shaw (Lebanon). Rainville was 33rd overall, LaFlamme 35th and Shaw 42nd.
Eastern hosts its annual invitational Saturday at Mansfield Hollow State Park. The women are scheduled for an 11 a.m. start, the men 11:30 a.m.
