FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Defending champion Saints men,
women picked atop respective ledgers

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men and women have been chosen as the favorites for this Saturday’s GNAC Cross Country Championships, which will be hosted by Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish, Maine. The women’s race will get underway at 1:00 p.m., followed by the men’s race at 2:00 p.m.

Both programs captured the 2013 GNAC Cross Country crowns last fall.

In the men’s poll, the Saints received five first-place votes to take the top spot, earning 72 points in advance of Saturday’s meet in Maine, narrowly ousting Norwich University, which tallied three first-place votes and 69 points in the poll.

Johnson & Wales University received 65 points in the poll, while the host Monks garnered 64 points and one first-place tally.

Rounding out the poll for the men was Lasell College with 36 points, Suffolk University with 31 points, Rivier University with 28 points, Mount Ida College with 24 points and Anna Maria College with 16 points.

In the women’s voting, Emmanuel captured eight of a possible 11 first place-votes to finish with 118 points in the poll, while second-place Saint Joseph’s (ME) received two first-place votes and 102 points.

Norwich took the third spot with 96 points and the remaining first-place tally, while Johnson & Wales (88 points) and Simmons College (75) rounded out the top-five.

The University of Saint Joseph (CT) finished sixth with 53 points, narrowly ahead of Anna Maria’s 50 points and Rivier’s 49 points. Lasell, Suffolk and Mount Ida made up the remainder of the poll with 39, 31 and 25 points, respectively.

Following Saturday’s races, the GNAC All-Conference Teams and major award winners for the 2014 campaign will be announced.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement.

2014 GNAC Men's Cross Country Championship Poll
1. Emmanuel (5) - 72 
2. Norwich (3) - 69 
3. Johnson & Wales - 65 
4. Saint Joseph's ME (1) - 64 
5. Lasell - 36
6. Suffolk - 31 
7. Rivier - 28 
8. Mount Ida - 24 
9. Anna Maria - 16 

2014 GNAC Women's Cross Country Championship Poll
1. Emmanuel (8) - 118
2. Saint Joseph's ME (2) - 102
3. Norwich (1) - 96
4. Johnson & Wales - 88
5. Simmons - 75 
6. Saint Joseph CT - 53
7. Anna Maria - 50
8. Rivier - 49
9. Lasell - 39 
10. Suffolk - 31
11. Mount Ida - 25

– #theGNAC –