NASHUA, N.H. -- The 18th running of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Cross Country Championship took place on the beautiful campus of Rivier University on Saturday, October 27th. For the third consecutive time, Johnson & Wales University captured the women's team championships. Norwich University claimed the Men's Championship after having four top ten finishers.
Rivier University played hosts to the 2012 Championship, which was held in Nashua, NH for the first time since 2009. It was a beautiful day, weather-wise as there were clear skies and a temperature of around 64 degrees. The fourteen GNAC member institutions made the easy race-day adjustments and the two meets went off without a hitch.
The women's 5k race featured the Wildcats edging out runner-up Saint Joseph's College to claim their third-straight and sixth overall GNAC Cross Country Championship. JWU finished with a team total of 47 points. The Monks locked up second place with 55 points, while the second-year varsity program at Simmons College came in a third place team finish with 85 points – the second straight third place finish for the Sharks.
Saint Joseph's College sophomore Amber Dostie (Standish, ME) cruised to a 1st place win along with claiming the Runner of the Year honors for the second consecutive year. Dostie paced the field of 143 runners and finished the 5k race in 19:19. Johnson & Wales senior Laura Furaro (North Warren, NJ) finished in 2nd this year in a time of 20:04. Saint Joseph's College freshman Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, NY) raced to a 3rd place time of 20:17.2. Teammate Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, ME) was just .2 behind her to finish in 4th place finish with a time of 20:17.4. Emerson College sophomore Ali Dokus (Littleton, Mass.) claimed 5th place as she crossed the line at 20:21.
Along with the top-five, JWU's Jessica Klepper (Long Valley, NJ), Norwich's Mallory Clark (Homer City, PA), Simmons' Nicole Chao (Fremont, CA), JWU's Kate Levinson (Moorestown, NJ) and Saint Joseph's Ashley Condon (Sumner, ME) each earned GNAC All-Conference honors with their top-ten finishes.
Rabideau was the top Rookie Runner and earned GNAC Rookie of the Year honors while her coach Ray Puntam was selected as the 2012 GNAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.