Ashleigh Kelley Leads Pride with All-Region Performance
BRUNSWICK, Maine - Led by the second consecutive All-Region performance by Ashleigh Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.), the Regis College women's cross country team finished in 18th place at the NCAA Division III East Region Cross Country Championships, hosted Saturday by Bowdoin College at the Pickard Field Cross Country Course.
Kelley posted a collegiate-best six-kilometer time of 23:08.2 to finish in 21st place, 10 places higher than her performance at last year's regional meet. Her time was 54 seconds faster than the previous program-best time on the Pickard Field course established by Maggie Mann at the 2018 regional meet as well as 36 seconds quicker than her previous top 6K time established at the 2021 Elms Blazer Classic.
Erin Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) also produced a top-50 performance for the Pride, crossing the finish line in 41st place with a time of 23:41.1. Her time was 53 seconds faster than her previous 6K collegiate best, also established at the 2021 Elms Blazer Classic, and she finished 31 places higher than the 72nd-place finish she notched at last year's regional meet.
Madelyn Klein (Framingham, Mass.) finished in 119th place with a time of 26:02.2, followed by Annabelle Jean-Philippe (Randolph, Mass.) in 160th place with a time of 27:52.0, 1:23.5 quicker than her previous collegiate-best time over a six-kilometer course. Libby Parker (Bow, N.H.) finished in 178th place with a time of 28:34.6, ahead of Elizabeth Stevenson (Scituate, Mass.) in 184th place in 28:55.2 and Jonnie Charest (Methuen, Mass.) in 199th place in 29:39.5, over a full minute quicker than her previous top 6K time.
As a team, the Pride finished in 18th place with 514 points, the same position where Regis landed last year to produce its best-ever regional finish. MIT saw its five scoring runners all finish in the top 15 to win the team regional title with 36 points, with Jillian Richardson of Bates earning individual medalist honors with a time of 21:41.1.
In the men's eight-kilometer race, Benjamin Happenny (Woonsocket, R.I.) finished in 179th place with a time of 31:39.3, followed by Zach Sigman (Buffalo, N.Y.) in 202nd place in 33:01.1. With five runners within the top seven, MIT cruised to the team title in the men's competition with 21 points, and Tyler Morris of Colby took medalist honors after crossing the finish line with a time of 24:55.6.
The Regis College cross country team will now begin preparations for the indoor track and field season, with the Pride's first competition taking place Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Suffolk Relays held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass.