Nov. 7, 2010

Results | Gardner: 'We are deep'

Sophomore Kelly Walton (Nahant, Mass.) placed fourth and senior Sarah Bonomo (Tewksbury, Mass.) ninth as UMass Lowell finished second at the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Cross Country Championship Sunday at Stonehill College.

The finish marked the second straight year the River Hawks took runner-up honors at the NE-10 Championship. UMass Lowell scored 97 points (4, 9, 15, 32, 37 - 40, 41) and placed behind only two-time champion Stonehill, which scored 56 points (2, 7, 12, 17, 18 - 19, 22).

The College of Saint Rose placed third with 119 points while Bentley (124) and Southern Connecticut (128) completed the top five. Merrimack and Southern New Hampshire shared sixth place with 223 points and was followed by Saint Anselm (232) and Le Moyne, who tied for eighth. The University of New Haven (249) placed 10th.

Walton and Bonomo were among three River Hawks to receive Northeast-10 All-Conference honors. Walton was named to the All-Conference First Team (she was a Second Team recipient last year) while Bonomo repeated her place on the Second Team. Sophomore Nicole Skotz (Tewksbury, Mass.) was named to the Third Team.

"I think 11 of 14 of our kids ran lifetime personal bests," said UML Head Coach Gary Gardner. "Anytime that happens, you have to be happy. Kelly and Nicole ran extremely well. No one would've picked Kelly for fourth overall. She ran great."

Walton ran the 5K course in 18 minutes, 39.1 seconds - a 6:00.2 mile pace - while Bonomo ran the course in 19:00.0. Skotz finished in 19:11.0.

Sophomore Mary Hazen (Framingham, Mass.) placed 32nd among scoring runners and 35th overall in 19:38.9 and sophomore Gina Butler (Dracut, Mass.) 37th/41st in 19:53.0.

"Mary Hazen really, really picked it up for us at the back," Gardner added. "She got hurt in training camp but she has really been coming along."

Sophomore Jessica Davis (Quincy, Mass.) finished 40th/45th in 19:57.9 while junior MaryAnn Ford (Woburn, Mass.) placed 46th/41st in 19:59.4.

UMass Lowell hosts the NCAA East Region Championship Sunday, Nov. 21 at Franklin Park in Boston.

"The women's race is going to be a dogfight," said Gardner. "They've run well over the last two meets and hopefully they've got another one in them. They are definitely on the upswing."