FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON – The rain held off for 130+ student-athletes on a dreary Saturday afternoon at Franklin Park, as Colby-Sawyer College convincingly won both the men's and women's 2021 GNAC Cross Country Championships under head coach Ryan O'Connell.

It marked the second-ever team title for the Chargers men, who also won it in 2018, as they were led by individual champion Dylan Flewelling with an 8K time of 28:04. As a result, the first-year automatically was named the 2021 GNAC Men's Runner and Rookie of the Year. 

The team title was the first in program history for the CSC women, which was led by a second-place overall finish from Samantha Carus with a time of 24:25.

Norwich University's India Jones took home individual honors in the women's 6K, nearing breaking 24 minutes at 24:01. Jones was crowned the 2021 GNAC Women's Runner and Rookie of the Year as a first-year runner for the Cadets. 

The top 1-7 finishers were honored with All-GNAC First Team accolades, while the 8-14 finishers received All-Conference Second Team laurels. For the complete All-Conference Teams, as well as the All-Sportmanship Teams, please see below. 

Women's All-GNAC First Team

  1 India Jones            Norwich                  24:01               
  2 Samantha Carus          Colby-Sawyer      24:25              
  3 Ashleigh Kelley         Regis (Mass.)            24:30               
  4 Alice Najimy            Simmons                  24:59                
  5 Tessa Millette          Colby-Sawyer             25:02               
  6 Samantha Molinari       Rivier                   25:07                  
  7 Erin Kelley             Regis (Mass.)            25:16  

Women's All-GNAC Second Team

  8 Elizabeth Cameron       Emmanuel (Mass.)         25:27               
  9 Heather Hanson          Colby-Sawyer             25:33               
 10 Nick Beaulieu           Simmons                  25:35               
 11 Hannah Fitzpatrick      Emmanuel (Mass.)  25:44                
 12 Julia Gorby             Norwich                   25:44              
 13 Kelsey Kennedy          St. Joseph's (Me.)   26:14         
 14 Chloe O'Hara            Simmons                  26:29    

Men's All-GNAC First Team

  1 Dylan Flewelling        Colby-Sawyer             28:04      
  2 Troy Hendricks          St. Joseph's (Me.)       28:21      
  3 Colby Makin             Norwich                   28:58            
  4 Braeden Laframboise     St. Joseph (Conn.)       29:01             
  5 Jacob Huberdeau         St. Joseph's (Me.)       29:22               
  6 Benjamin Happenny       Regis (Mass.)            29:47            
  7 Spencer McClary         Colby-Sawyer             29:55  

Men's All-GNAC Second Team

  8 Haven Deschenes         Colby-Sawyer             29:57            
  9 Nate Palter             Norwich                   30:14           
 10 Noah Rodgers            Norwich                  30:28               
 11 Joshua Beeghley         Norwich                  30:35            
 12 Jorge Zapata          Emmanuel (Mass.)         30:40                  
 13 Yurly Buttrick          Dean (Mass.)             30:45              
 14 Daniel Magill           Colby-Sawyer             30:49  

2021 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team
Colby-Sawyer - Brendan Sullivan, Heather Hanson
Dean - Sebastian Wisnivesky, Lily Daigneault
Elms - Bennett McCreary, Jess Charron 
Emmanuel - Jorge Zapata, Hannah Fitzpatrick
Lasell - Sophie Fistori, Joan Guzman
Norwich - Noah Rodgers, India Jones
Regis - Libby Parker, Gustavo Novelle-Ruddy
Rivier - Thomas Regan, Annalyse Talbot
USJ CT - Madison Hall, Patrick O'Connor
SJC Maine - Emma Allen, Devin Abbott
Simmons - Chloe O'Hara

Women's Team Standings
1 Colby-Sawyer - 52
2 Simmons- 72 
3 Regis (Mass.) - 87
4 St. Joseph's (Me.) - 92
5 Emmanuel (Mass.) - 97
6 Norwich - 128
7 Lasell - 179
8 St. Joseph (Conn.) - 228
9 Dean (Mass.) - 272

Men's Team Standings
1 Colby-Sawyer - 44
2 Norwich - 49
3 St. Joseph's (Me.) - 56
4 Regis (Mass.) - 106
5 St. Joseph (Conn.) - 134
6 Dean (Mass.) - 138

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –